Knee proprioception following ACL reconstruction; a prospective trial comparing hamstrings with bone–patellar tendon–bone autograft

Abstract 

We prospectively studied knee proprioception following ACL reconstruction in 40 patients (34 men and six women; mean age 31years). The patients were allocated into two equal groups; group A underwent reconstruction using hamstrings autograft, and group B underwent reconstruction using bone–patellar tendon–bone autograft. Proprioception was assessed in flexion and extension by the joint position sense (JPS) at 15°, 45° and 75°, and time threshold to detection of passive motion (TTDPM) at 15° and 45°, preoperatively and at 3, 6 and 12months postoperatively. The contralateral healthy knee was used as internal control. No statistical difference was found between the ACL-operated and the contralateral knees in JPS 15°, 45° and 75° at 6 and 12months, in both study groups. No statistical difference was found between the ACL-operated and the contralateral knees in TTDPM 15° at 6 and 12months, nor regarding TTDPM 45° at 3, 6 and 12months, in group A. No statistical difference was found in JPS and TTDPM between the two grafts, at any time period. Knee proprioception returned to normal with ACL reconstruction at 6months postoperatively, without any statistically significant difference between the autografts used.

Keywords: Anterior cruciate ligament rupture, Hamstrings, Patellar tendon, JPS, TTDPM