Multiligament Knee Injuries: Updates of the Debates

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Sports Medicine
• Rehabilitation Science

Background:

• Multiligament knee injuries (MLKI) present significant challenges, potentially leading to osteoarthritis and impacting return to work or sport.
• Current high-level evidence and expert consensus on MLKI management strategies remain insufficient.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review current debates surrounding multiligament knee injuries (MLKI), including diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation.
• To elucidate expert opinions on controversial aspects of MLKI from Middle Eastern scholars.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature search was conducted across Medline, Embase, PubMed, and PEDro databases up to February 2024.
• Search terms included variations of 'multi-ligament' and 'knee' to identify relevant studies.

Main Results:

• An initial search yielded 1009 eligible studies.
• The final analysis included 251 articles, comprising 24 systematic reviews and 227 clinical studies.

Conclusions:

• The rarity of MLKI hinders the execution of large-scale prospective randomized controlled trials.
• Diverse presentations of MLKI necessitate tailored diagnostic and management plans based on thorough clinical knowledge and experience.