Increased Rotatory Laxity after Anterolateral Ligament Lesion in Anterior Cruciate Ligament- (ACL-) Deficient Knees: A Cadaveric Study with Noninvasive Inertial Sensors.

The anterolateral ligament (ALL) has been suggested as an important secondary knee restrain on the dynamic laxity in anterior cruciate ligament- (ACL-) deficient knees. Nevertheless, its kinematical contribution to the pivot-shift (PS) phenomenon has not been clearly and objectively defined, and noninvasive sensor technology could give a crucial contribution in this direction. The aim of the present study was to quantify in vitro the PS phenomenon in order to investigate the differences between an ACL-deficient knee and an ACL+ALL-deficient knee. Ten fresh-frozen paired human cadaveric knees ( n = 20) were included in this controlled laboratory study. Intact, ACL-deficient, and ACL+ALL-deficient knees were subjected to a manual PS test quantified by a noninvasive triaxial accelerometer (KiRA, OrthoKey). Kinematic data (i.e., posterior acceleration of the tibial lateral compartment) were recorded and compared among the three statuses. Pairwise Student's t -test was used to compare the single groups ( p < 0.05). Intact knees, ACL-deficient knees, and ACL+ALL-deficient knees showed an acceleration of 5.3 ± 2.1 m/s 2 , 6.3 ± 2.3 m/s 2 , and 7.8 ± 2.1 m/s 2 , respectively. Combined sectioning of ACL and ALL resulted in a statistically significant acceleration increase compared to both the intact state ( p < 0.01) and the ACL-deficient state ( p < 0.01). The acceleration increase determined by isolated ACL resection compared to the intact state was not statistically significant ( p > 0.05). The ALL sectioning increased the rotatory laxity during the PS after ACL sectioning as measured through a user-friendly, noninvasive triaxial accelerometer.
Competing Interests: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this paper.
(Copyright © 2021 Alberto Grassi et al.)