Functional analysis of pre and post-knee surgery: total knee arthroplasty and ACL reconstruction

This paper examines the biomechanics of total knee arthroplasty as a treatment for arthritis and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction for repair of torn anterior cruciate ligaments of the knee. These are two of the most frequent reconstructive procedures for the knee joint. Functional testing of patients while performing various activities of daily living was used to study the relationship between the intrinsic biomechanics of the knee and function. The results of the study of patients following total knee replacement demonstrated a dynamic interaction between the posterior cruciate ligament and quadriceps function during stairclimbing. The study of patients with ACL-deficient knees demonstrated that loss of the anterior cruciate ligament can cause the avoidance of quadriceps contraction during activities when the knee is near full extension. Other studies demonstrated a relationship between tibiofemoral joint mechanics and patellofemoral mechanics. In addition, the importance of combined ligamentous laxity with higher than normal adduction moments during gait was examined in relationship to progressive degenerative changes to the medial compartment of the knee. In summary, functional testing such as gait analysis has proven to be an important basic research tool as well as extremely effective for clinical testing of new procedures and devices.