OBJECTIVE: To summarize the evaluation methods of return to sports (RTS) after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) in recent years, in order to provide reference for clinical practice. METHODS: The literature related to the RTS after ACLR was searched from CNKI, Wanfang, PubMed, and Foreign Medical Information Resources Retrieval Platform (FMRS) databases. The retrieval range was from 2010 to 2023, and 66 papers were finally included for review. The relevant literature was summarized and analyzed from the aspects of RTS time, objective evaluation indicators, and psychological evaluation. RESULTS: RTS is the common desire of patients with ACL injury and doctors, as well as the initial intention of selecting surgery. A reasonable and perfect evaluation method of RTS can not only help patients recover to preoperative exercise level, but also protect patients from re-injury. At present, the main criterion for clinical judgement of RTS is time. It is basically agreed that RTS after 9 months can reduce the re-injury. In addition to time, it is also necessary to test the lower limb muscle strength, jumping, balance, and other aspects of the patient, comprehensively assess the degree of functional recovery and determine the different time of RTS according to the type of exercise. Psychological assessment plays an important role in RTS and has a good clinical predictive effect. CONCLUSION RTS is one of the research hotspots after ACLR. At present, there are many related evaluation methods, which need to be further optimized by more research to build a comprehensive and standardized evaluation system.
Humans ; Return to Sport/psychology* ; Reinjuries/surgery* ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries/surgery* ; Lower Extremity/surgery* ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction/methods*

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the risk factors of contralateral anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury after primary ACL reconstruction. METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted on the 716 patients with ACL injury who received primary ACL reconstruction surgery and met the selection criteria between January 2012 and September 2018. After a mean follow-up period of 7.6 years (range, 4-10 years), 65 patients (9.1%) experienced contralateral ACL injury (injured group) and 651 patients (90.9%) did not (uninjured group). There was no significant difference in age, body mass index, and preoperative Lachman test degree between groups ( P>0.05). However, the proportion of female in the injured group was significantly higher than that of male ( P<0.05), and the preoperative posterior tibial slope (PTS) was significantly higher than that of the uninjured group ( P<0.05). Using the outcome of contralateral ACL injury as the dependent variable, the clinical data of the patient was first used as the independent variable, and univariate COX regression was used to analyze the prognostic influencing factors. Then, the indicators with differences in univariate COX regression were used as the independent variable, and multivariate COX regression was used to analyze the independent risk factors affecting prognosis. Log-Rank (Mantel-Cox) test was used to test and analyze the occurrence time of contralateral ACL injury in patients of different genders; X-tile software was used to analyze the occurrence time of contralateral ACL injury in patients with different PTS using Log-Rank (Mantel-Cox) test and PTS cut-off values. RESULTS: Univariate COX regression analysis showed that gender and PTS were influence factors for contralateral ACL injury ( P<0.05); further multivariate COX regression analysis showed that female and increased PTS were independent risk factors for contralateral ACL injury ( P<0.05). The Log-Rank (Mantel-Cox) test results showed that the contralateral ACL injury occurred in female at 8.853 (8.600, 9.106) years, which was significantly shorter than that in male [9.661 (9.503, 9.819) years] ( χ ²=20.323, P<0.001). Using X-tile software to analyze the cut-off value of PTS, it was found that the cut-off value of PTS for contralateral ACL injury was 10.92°. According to the Log-Rank (Mantel-Cox) test, it was found that the contralateral ACL injury occurred in 5.762 (4.981, 6.543) years in patients with PTS≥10.92°, which was significantly shorter than patients with PTS<10.92° [9.751 (9.650, 9.853) years]( χ ² =302.479, P<0.001). CONCLUSION Female and PTS≥10.92° after primary ACL reconstruction are independent risk factors for contralateral ACL injury.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries/surgery* ; Knee Joint/surgery* ; Risk Factors ; Tibia/surgery* ; Retrospective Studies ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction/methods*

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effectiveness of arthroscopic binding fixation using suture through single bone tunnel for posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) tibial insertion fractures in adults. METHODS: Between October 2019 and October 2021, 16 patients with PCL tibial insertion fractures were treated with arthroscopic binding fixation using suture through single bone tunnel. There were 11 males and 5 females with an average age of 41.1 years (range, 26-58 years). The fractures were caused by traffic accident in 12 cases and sports in 4 cases. The time from injury to operation ranged from 2 to 10 days with an average of 6.0 days. The fractures were classified as Meyers-McKeever type Ⅱ in 4 cases and type Ⅲ in 9 cases, and Zaricznyi type Ⅳ in 3 cases. There were 2 cases of grade Ⅰ, 7 cases of grade Ⅱ, and 7 cases of grade Ⅲ in the posterior drawer test. There were 3 cases combined with lateral collateral ligament injury and 2 cases with meniscus injury. The visual analogue scale (VAS) score, Lysholm score, International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score, and knee range of motion were used to evaluate knee joint function. The posterior drawer test and knee stability tester (Kneelax 3) were used to evaluate knee joint stability. The X-ray films were used to evaluate fracture reduction and healing. RESULTS: All incisions healed by first intention after operation. There was no incision infection, popliteal neurovascular injury, or deep venous thrombosis of lower limbs. All patients were followed up 6-12 months, with an average of 10 months. X-ray films at 6 months after operation showed the fractures obtained bone union. There were 11 cases of grade 0, 4 cases of gradeⅠ, and 1 case of grade Ⅱin posterior drawer test, showing significant difference when compared with preoperative results ( Z=23.167, P<0.001). The VAS score, Lysholm score, IKDC score, knee range of motion, and the results of Kneelax3 examination all significantly improved when compared with preoperative results ( P<0.05). CONCLUSION For adult patients with PCL tibial insertion fractures, the arthroscopic binding fixation using suture through single bone tunnel has the advantages of minimal trauma, good fracture reduction, reliable fixation, and fewer complications. The patient's knee joint function recovers well.
Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries/surgery* ; Arthroscopy/methods* ; Knee Joint/surgery* ; Posterior Cruciate Ligament/injuries* ; Suture Techniques ; Sutures ; Tibial Fractures/surgery* ; Treatment Outcome ; Middle Aged

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the changes of knee joint kinematics after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction assisted by personalized femoral positioner based on the apex of deep cartilage (ADC). METHODS: Between January 2021 and January 2022, a total of 40 patients with initial ACL rupture who met the selection criteria were randomly divided into the study group (using the personalized femoral positioner based on ADC design to assist ACL reconstruction) and the control group (not using the personalized femoral positioner to assist ACL reconstruction), with 20 patients in each group. Another 20 volunteers with normal knee were collected as a healthy group. There was no significant difference in gender, age, body mass index, and affected side between groups ( P>0.05). Gait analysis was performed at 3, 6, and 12 months after operation using Opti _ Knee three-dimensional knee joint motion measurement and analysis system, and the 6 degrees of freedom (flexion and extension angle, varus and valgus angle, internal and external rotation angle, anteroposterior displacement, superior and inferior displacement, internal and external displacement) and motion cycle (maximum step length, minimum step length, and step frequency) of the knee joint were recorded. The patients' data was compared to the data of healthy group. RESULTS: In the healthy group, the flexion and extension angle was (57.80±3.45)°, the varus and valgus angle was (10.54±1.05)°, the internal and external rotation angle was (13.02±1.66)°, and the anteroposterior displacement was (1.44±0.39) cm, the superior and inferior displacement was (0.86±0.20) cm, and the internal and external displacement was (1.38±0.39) cm. The maximum step length was (51.24±1.29) cm, the minimum step length was (45.69±2.28) cm, and the step frequency was (12.45±0.47) step/minute. Compared with the healthy group, the flexion and extension angles and internal and external rotation angles of the patients in the study group and the control group decreased at 3 months after operation, and the flexion and extension angles of the patients in the control group decreased at 6 months after operation, and the differences were significant ( P<0.05); there was no significant difference in the other time points and other indicators when compared with healthy group ( P>0.05). In the study group, the flexion and extension angles and internal and external rotation angles at 6 and 12 months after operation were significantly greater than those at 3 months after operation ( P<0.05), while there was no significant difference in the other indicators at other time points ( P>0.05). There was a significant difference in flexion and extension angle between the study group and the control group at 6 months after operation ( P<0.05), but there was no significant difference of the indicators between the two groups at other time points ( P>0.05). CONCLUSION Compared with conventional surgery, ACL reconstruction assisted by personalized femoral positioner based on ADC design can help patients achieve more satisfactory early postoperative kinematic results, and three-dimensional kinematic analysis can more objectively and dynamically evaluate the postoperative recovery of knee joint.
Humans ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Knee Joint/surgery* ; Femur/surgery* ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries/surgery* ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Cartilage/surgery* ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction/methods*

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effectiveness of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction assisted by personalized femoral locator based on the apex of deep cartilage (ADC) combined with patient imaging data. METHODS: Between January 2021 and January 2022, a total of 40 patients with primary ACL rupture were selected and randomly divided into study group (ACL reconstruction assisted by personalized femoral locator based on ADC) and control group (ACL reconstruction assisted by intraoperative fluoroscopy and traditional femoral locator), with 20 cases in each group. There was no significant difference in gender, age, body mass index, affected side, cause of injury, and preoperative International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score, Lyshlom score, and Tegner score between the two groups ( P>0.05). IKDC score, Lyshlom score, and Tegner score were used to evaluate the functional recovery of the affected knee before operation and at 3, 6, and 12 months after operation. CT scan and three-dimensional reconstruction were performed before and after operation to measure the horizontal distance from ADC to the anterior cartilage margin (L) and the horizontal distance from ADC to the center of the femoral canal (I), and the anteroposterior position of the bone canal (R) was calculated by I/L; the distance from the center to the distal cartilage margin (D) was measured on the two-dimensional cross section; the R value and D value were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The operation time of the study group was significantly less than that of the control group [ MD=-6.90 (-8.78, -5.03), P<0.001]. The incisions of the two groups healed by first intention, and no complication such as intra-articular infection, nerve injury, and deep vein thrombosis of lower limbs occurred. There was no significant difference in the R value and D value between the preoperative simulated positioning and the actual intraoperative positioning in the study group [ MD=0.52 (-2.85, 3.88), P=0.758; MD=0.36 (-0.39, 1.11), P=0.351]. There was no significant difference in the actual intraoperative positioning R value and D value between the study group and the control group [ MD=1.01 (-2.57, 4.58), P=0.573; MD=0.24 (-0.34, 0.82), P=0.411]. The patients in both groups were followed up 12-13 months (mean, 12.4 months). The IKDC score, Lysholm score, and Tegner score of the two groups increased gradually with time, and there were significant differences between pre- and post-operation ( P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the scores between the two groups at each time point after operation ( P>0.05). CONCLUSION The personalized femoral locator based on ADC can accurately assist the femoral tunnel positioning in ACL reconstruction, which can shorten the operation time when compared with traditional surgical methods, and achieve satisfactory early effectiveness.
Humans ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries/surgery* ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction/methods* ; Cartilage/surgery* ; Knee Joint/surgery* ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the feasibility of establishing an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction model using hamstring tendon autograft in cynomolgus monkeys. METHODS: Twelve healthy adult male cynomolgus monkeys, weighing 8-13 kg, were randomly divided into two groups ( n=6). In the experimental group, the ACL reconstruction model of the right lower limb was prepared by using a single bundle of hamstring tendon, and the ACL of the right lower limb was only cut off in the control group. The survival of animals in the two groups was observed after operation. Before operation and at 3, 6, and 12 months after operation, the knee range of motion, thigh circumference, and calf circumference of the two groups were measured; the anterior tibial translation D-value (ATTD) was measured by Ligs joint ligament digital body examination instrument under the loads of 13-20 N, respectively. At the same time, the experimental group underwent MRI examination to observe the graft morphology and the signal/ noise quotient (SNQ) was caculated. RESULTS: All animals survived to the end of the experiment. In the experimental group, the knee range of motion, thigh circumference, and calf circumference decreased first and then gradually increased after operation; the above indexes were significantly lower at 3 and 6 months after operation than before operation ( P<0.05), and no significant difference was found between pre-operation and 12 months after operation ( P>0.05). In the control group, there was no significant change in knee range of motion after operation, showing no significant difference between pre- and post-operation ( P>0.05), but the thigh circumference and calf circumference gradually significantly decreased with time ( P<0.05), and the difference was significant when compared with those before operation ( P<0.05). At 6 and 12 months after operation, the thigh circumference and calf circumference were significantly larger in the experimental group than in the control group ( P<0.05). At 3 and 6 months after operation, the knee range of motion was significantly smaller in the experimental group than in the control group ( P<0.05). Under the loading condition of 13-20 N, the ATTD in the experimental group increased first and then decreased after operation; and the ATTD significantly increased at 3, 6 months after operation when compared with the value before operation ( P<0.05). But there was no significant difference between the pre-operation and 12 months after operation ( P>0.05). There was no significant change in ATTD in the control group at 3, 6, and 12 months after operation ( P>0.05), and which were significantly higher than those before operation ( P<0.05). At each time point after operation, the ATTD was significantly smaller in the experimental group than in the control group under the same load ( P<0.05). The MRI examination of the experimental group showed that the ACL boundary gradually became clear after reconstruction and was covered by the synovial membrane. The SNQ at each time point after operation was significantly higher than that before operation, but gradually decreased with time, and the differences between time points were significant ( P<0.05). CONCLUSION The ACL reconstruction model in cynomolgus monkey with autogenous hamstring tendon transplantation was successfully established.
Animals ; Male ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament/surgery* ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries/surgery* ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction ; Hamstring Tendons/surgery* ; Knee Joint/surgery* ; Macaca fascicularis ; Transplantation, Autologous

OBJECTIVE: To explore correlation between femoral mechanical axis and Blumensaat line (FMBL) angle of knee joint (angle between Blumensaat line and femoral mechanical axis), α angle (angle between Blumensaat line and axis of distal femur in sagittal plane) on EOS biplane imaging and non-contact anterior cruciate ligament(ACL) injury, and evaluate angle for its accuracy in predicting the populations prone to non-contact ACL injury. METHODS: From February 2018 to October 2020, EOS imaging and clinical data from 88 patients (176 knees) with unilateral non-contact ACL injury were retrospectively analyzed, including 53 males and 35 females, aged from 18 to 45 years old with an average of (30.3±6.2) years old, 48 patients on the left side and 40 patients on the right side. The patients were divided into ACL-affected group and ACL-health group according to side of ACL injuries, and 51 patients (51 knees) with non-ACL identified from EOS database were included in normal control group, including 28 males and 23 females, aged from 20 to 44 years old with an average of (31.6±5.5) years old, 26 patients on the left side and 25 patients on the right side. Full-length EOS imaging of skeleton extremitatis inferioris among three groups were reconstructed to 3D images of skeletal system with EOS software, and then FMBL angle and α angle were measured on the images. Univariate binary Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the influence of the univariate(FMBL angle or α angle) on ACL status(normal or torn). And the angle cutoff value for univariate was selected based on receiver operating characteristics curve (ROC) to got the best accuracy. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference in age, gender and side distribution between ACL-injured group and normal control group(P>0.05). Statistical analyses (one-way ANOVA) indicated no significant difference in FMBL angle between ACL-injured knee group (32.8±2.3)° and ACL-injured contralateral knee group(32.5±2.3)°(P>0.05), but the values between two groups were significantly lower than that in normal control group (37.0±2.0)°(P<0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in α angle among three groups (P>0.05). Univariate binary Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that FMBL angle was risk factor for non-contact ACL injury[OR=0.433, 95%CI(0.330, 0.569), P<0.001]. The area under ROC curve for FMBL angle was 0.909[95%CI(0.861, 0.958), P<0.001], and the sensitivity and specificity were 70.5% and 98.0% respectively, cut-off value was 33.7°. CONCLUSION FMBL angle formed by Blumensaat line and femoral mechanical axis is one of the risk factors for non-contact ACL injury and has good predictive accuracy. The general population with FMBL angle below 33.7° may be increased risk for ACL injury.
Male ; Female ; Humans ; Adolescent ; Young Adult ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries/diagnostic imaging* ; Retrospective Studies ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods* ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament/diagnostic imaging* ; Knee Joint/diagnostic imaging*

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the outcome of lateral femoral notch (LFN) after early anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction and evaluate the recovery of knee joint function after the operation. METHODS: The clinical data of 32 patients who underwent early ACL reconstruction from December 2015 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. The study included 18 males and 14 females, aged 16 to 54 years old, with an average age of (25.39±2.82) years. The body mass index (BMI) of the patients ranged from 20 to 30 kg/cm2, with an average of (26.15±3.09) kg/cm². Among them, 6 cases were caused by traffic accidents, 19 by exercise, and 7 by the crush of heavy objects. MRI of all patients showed LFN depth was more than 1.5 mm after injury, and no intervention for LFN was performed during surgery. Preoperative and postoperative depth, area, and volume of LFN defects were observed by MRI data. International Cartilage Repair Society (ICRS) score, Lysholm score, Tegner activity levels, and knee injury and osteoarthritis outcome score (KOOS) were analyzed before and after the operation. RESULTS: All patients were followed up from 2 to 6 years with an average of (3.28±1.12) years. There was no significant difference in the defect depth of LFN from (2.31±0.67) mm before the operation to (2.53±0.50) mm at follow-up (P=0.136). The defect area of LFN was decreased from (207.55±81.01)mm² to (171.36±52.69)mm² (P=0.038), and the defect volume of LFN was decreased from (426.32±176.54) mm³ to (340.86±151.54)mm³ (P=0.042). The ICRS score increased from (1.51±0.34) to (2.92±0.33) (P<0.001), the Lysholm score increased from (35.37±10.54) to (94.46±8.45) (P<0.001), and the Tegner motor score increased from (3.45±0.94) to (7.56±1.28), which was significantly higher than that of the preoperative data (P<0.001). The KOOS score of the final follow-up was 90.42±16.35. CONCLUSION With the increase of recovery time after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, the defect area and volume of LFN decreased gradually, but the defect depth remained unchanged. The knee joint function of the patients significantly improved. The cartilage of the LFN defect improved, but the repair effect was not good.
Male ; Female ; Humans ; Young Adult ; Adult ; Adolescent ; Middle Aged ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries/surgery* ; Retrospective Studies ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction ; Femur/surgery* ; Treatment Outcome ; Knee Joint/surgery*

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between the vertical distance from semitendinosus insertion to tibial plateau (S-T) and the physical characteristics of patients, in order to provide reference for incision design to expose the semitendinosus insertion. METHODS: The patients with ligament injury who underwent primary anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction between January 2022 and December 2022 were selected as the research subjects. The patients' baseline data were collected, including age, gender, height, and body mass. During reconstruction operation, the S-T was measured. Considering the S-T as the dependent variable and baseline data as the independent variable, multiple linear regression analysis was used to establish a regression equation to determine the possible influencing factors of semitendinosus insertion location. RESULTS: According to the selection standard, a total of 214 patients were enrolled, including 156 males and 58 females, aged (27±9) years (14-49 years), with a height of (174.7±6.8) cm (range, 160-196 cm) and a body mass of (73.43±12.35) kg (range, 53-105 kg). The S-T was (56.36±3.61) mm (range, 47-67 mm). The multiple linear regression analysis results showed that the height was positively correlated with S-T (β=0.407, SE=0.055, t=7.543, P<0.001); the regression equation was S-T=-14.701+0.407×height, R²=0.690. CONCLUSION There was a linear relationship between the height and semitendinosus insertion. The location of semitendinosus insertion estimated by the formula (S-T=-14.701+0.407×height) is reasonable, which provides a theoretical basis for rapid, accurate, and safe location of semitendinosus insertion and design of surgical incision in clinic.
Female ; Male ; Humans ; Correlation of Data ; Hamstring Muscles ; Plastic Surgery Procedures ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction ; Physical Examination

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effectiveness of preemptive analgesia with imrecoxib on analgesia after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. METHODS: A total of 160 patients with ACL injuries who met the selection criteria and were admitted between November 2020 and August 2021 were selected and divided into 4 groups according to the random number table method (n=40). Group A began to take imrecoxib 3 days before operation (100 mg/time, 2 times/day); group B began to take imrecoxib 1 day before operation (100 mg/time, 2 times/day); group C took 200 mg of imrecoxib 2 hours before operation (5 mL of water); and group D did not take any analgesic drugs before operation. There was no significant difference in gender, age, body mass index, constituent ratio of meniscal injuries with preoperative MRI grade 3, constituent ratio of cartilage injury Outerbridge grade 3, and visual analogue scale (VAS) score at the time of injury and at rest among 4 groups (P>0.05). The operation time, hospitalization stay, constituent ratio of perioperative American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) grade 1, postoperative opioid dosage, and complications were recorded. The VAS scores were used to evaluate the degree of knee joint pain, including resting VAS scores before operation and at 6, 24, 48 hours, and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after operation, and walking, knee flexion, and night VAS scores at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after operation. The knee injury and osteoarthritis score (KOOS) was used to evaluate postoperative quality of life and knee-related symptoms of patients, mainly including pain, symptoms, daily activities, sports and entertainment functions, knee-related quality of life (QOL); and the Lysholm score was used to evaluate knee joint function. RESULTS: All patients were followed up 1 year. There was no significant difference in operation time, hospitalization time, or constituent ratio of perioperative ASA grade 1 among 4 groups (P>0.05); the dosage of opioids in groups A-C was significantly less than that in group D (P<0.05). Except for 1 case of postoperative fever in group B, no complications such as joint infection, deep vein thrombosis of the lower extremities, or knee joint instability occurred in each group. The resting VAS scores of groups A-C at 6 and 24 hours after operation were lower than those of group D, and the score of group A at 6 hours after operation was lower than those of group C, and the differences were significant (P<0.05). At 1 month after operation, the knee flexion VAS scores of groups A-C were lower than those of group D, the walking VAS scores of groups A and B were lower than those of groups C and D, the differences were significant (P<0.05). At 1 month after operation, the KOOS pain scores in groups A-C were higher than those in group D, there was significant difference between groups A, B and group D (P<0.05); the KOOS QOL scores in groups A-C were higher than that in group D, all showing significant differences (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference between groups A-C (P>0.05). There was no significant difference in VAS scores and KOOS scores between the groups at other time points (P>0.05). And there was no significant difference in Lysholm scores between the groups at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after operation (P>0.05). CONCLUSION Compared with the traditional analgesic scheme, applying the concept of preemptive analgesia with imrecoxib to manage the perioperative pain of ACL reconstruction can effectively reduce the early postoperative pain, reduce the dosage of opioids, and promote the early recovery of limb function.
Humans ; Quality of Life ; Analgesics, Opioid ; Analgesia ; Osteoarthritis, Knee ; Pain, Postoperative/prevention & control* ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction ; Knee Injuries