Kinetic and Kinematic Performance of the Unaffected Lower Limb during Step Descent in Subjects with Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury

Abstract

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) plays a significant role in the dynamics of the knee joint during locomotion. Previous investigations mainly verified kinematics and kinetics of patients with ACL deficiency drawn on the injured leg. Most studies analyzed these patients after reconstruction surgery. The aim of the present study was to scrutinize the kinematics and kinetics of the intact leg of the ACL deficient individuals during a single step descent. 15 ACL deficient individuals (ACLD) and 15 healthy subjects were recruited in this study. They were asked to descent a single step and continue to walk with preferred speed. Kinematics and kinetics of the hip, knee and ankle of both lower extremities were analyzed. Data was divided into step and walking phases. For the step phase, there were significant differences between the two groups in hip (p-value = 0.02), knee (p-value = 0.05) and ankle (p-value = 0.01) joints range of motion between groups. Velocity of the step descent phase was higher in ACLD subjects in comparison to normal group (p-value = 0.05). For the walking phase, knee joint range of motion in anteroposterior plane was lower in patients group (p-value = 0.05). The stride length in patients group was shorter than that of healthy subjects (p-value = 0.05). The sound side of the ACLD subjects demonstrated different patterns as compared to healthy control group. Both lower extremities may experience early degenerative changes. Therefore, it is recommended that both lower extremities should be assessed in ACLD patients.