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The Single Leg Squat Test to Evaluate Dynamic Knee Stability After ACLR

Completed
Conditions
ACL Injury
Interventions
Procedure: ACL reconstruction
Registration Number
NCT05294783
Lead Sponsor
Chinese University of Hong Kong
Brief Summary

Patients with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury often suffer knee instability, which can be visualized as a wobbling knee during weight bearing exercises, such as the single leg squat. We propose to use the single-leg-squat-and-hold (SLSH) task with kinematic analysis to objectively evaluate dynamic knee stability in ACL injured patients. The aim of this study is (1) to compare knee kinematic variations capturing knee wobbling during SLSH between ACL subjects and healthy controls; and (2) to detect the changes in knee kinematic variations during SLSH following ACL reconstruction.

Detailed Description

Injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) are common in pivoting sports such as soccer, handball, basketball and rugby. The ultimate goal of ACL reconstruction for most athletes is return-to-play. Despite successful surgery and a demanding rehabilitation process, some athletes still failed to return to play, and for those who returned to play, some would suffer a second ACL injury. With surgical reconstruction of the ACL, static knee stability can be restored, but dynamic knee stability may not . Patients with ACL injury often experience symptoms such as knee instability, feelings of "giving way" during activities. Biomechanically, dynamic knee stability is considered as the ability to control the relative tibiofemoral displacements during loading.

Regular monitoring of the knee stability before and after ACL reconstruction is necessary for medical personnel to design the most suitable rehabilitation program. In contrast to jumping and hopping tasks, squatting tasks present a similar weight bearing profile during knee flexion, but without the potentially risky landing phase. As poor knee dynamic knee stability can be visualized as a wobbling knee (frequent knee movements). In order to quantitatively and objectively evaluate dynamic knee stability from observing the knee wobbling motion, we propose a single leg squat and hold task(SLSH) with kinematic analysis. Kinematic curve derived from the SLSH involves both the magnitudes and the frequency of the motion fluctuation. This study aims (1) to compare knee kinematic variations capturing knee wobbling during SLSH between ACL-deficient patients who are scheduled for ACLR and healthy controls; and(2)to detect the changes in knee kinematic variations during SLSH following ACLR. We hypothesize that the ACL-deficient patients demonstrate greater knee kinematic variation than the healthy subjects and the knee kinematic variation will reduce after ACLR.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
43
Inclusion Criteria
  1. Aged 18-35;
  2. Participate in level I or level II sports with a Tegner score of more than 6 before injury(level I: sports involving jumping, cutting and pivoting, e.g.football, basketball etc; Level II: sports involving lateral movements, less pivoting than Level I eg. racket sports)
  3. Scheduled for ACLR because of unilateral ACL injury;
  4. Failure to meet any single criteria for a potential coper;
  5. Contralateral knee without history of injury.
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Exclusion Criteria
  1. Concomitant fracture, meniscus injury or full-thickness chondral injuries;
  2. preoperative radiographic signs of arthritis;
  3. Revision ACL surgery;
  4. With ankle pain, hip pain, low back pain or spine pathology;
  5. Woman with pregnancy.
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Study & Design

Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Study Design
Not specified
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
ACL injured patientsACL reconstructionAll the ACL injured patients recruited underwent ACL reconstruction with the same group of surgeons lead by the same chief surgeon.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Changes from baseline knee range of internal-external rotation at 3 months after ACLRone month pre-operatively and three months post-operatively

knee range of internal-external rotation will be measured during 10s holding phase of the single leg squat and hold test

Changes from baseline knee range of varus-valgus at 3 months after ACLRthree months post-operatively

knee range of virus-valgus will be measured during 10s holding phase of the single leg squat and hold test

Changes from baseline frequency of knee internal-external rotationthree months post-operatively

he frequency of the relative internal-external movements will be quantified by the number of peak appearances during 10s holding phase of the single leg squat and hold test

Changes from baseline knee range of flexion-extension at 3 months after ACLRthree months post-operatively

knee range of flexion-extension will be measured during 10s holding phase of the single leg squat and hold test

Changes from baseline frequency of knee flexion-extension at 3 months after ACLRthree months post-operatively

the frequency of the relative flexion-extension movements will be quantified by the number of peak appearances during 10s holding phase of the single leg squat and hold test

Changes from baseline frequency of knee varus-valgus at 3 months after ACLRthree months post-operatively

the frequency of the relative varus-valgus movements will be quantified by the number of peak appearances during 10s holding phase of the single leg squat and hold test

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Changes from baseline International Knee Documentation Committee(IKDC) score at 3 months after ACLRthree months post-operatively

The IKDC is consisted of 10 questions about symptoms and activity ranging from 0 to 100 where 100 implies perfect knee function

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

🇭🇰

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

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