Clinical measurement of proprioceptive function after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

Proprioception is very important for the integrity and stability of the knee joint. Patients with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear have a decline in proprioceptive functions of the injured knee. However, improvement of proprioceptive functions of the knee after ACL reconstruction is a subject of considerable debate. This study was conducted to evaluate the results of a simple clinical proprioception test developed by the author in patients with ACL reconstructed knees.

This study was conducted in King Fahd Hospital of the University, Al-Khobar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from January 1996 to June 2002. The proprioceptive function of the knee joint was studied in a group of ACL reconstructed patients (n=22) and compared them with a group of ACL deficient patients (n=32) and a group of healthy controls (n=30). Proprioception was evaluated based on the performance in a simple clinical test.

There was a significant difference in proprioceptive functions between the ACL deficient knees and the ACL reconstructed group (p<0.05), but there was no significant difference between the ACL reconstructed and the normal control group (p>0.05).

These findings indicate that proprioceptive deficits in ACL deficient knees, as measured clinically using the described test, might improve after ACL reconstruction.