Knee Flashcards
What percentage of knee injuries are ligament injuries?
40%
What percentage of ligament knee injuries are ACL?
50%
What healing capacity has the ACL got and why?
Poor due to its limited blood supply
Cant repair itself
Why are the ACL injury rates higher for females compared to males?
Increased Q angles
Ligaments have greater laxity
What is the origin and insertion of the ACL and its direction?
Origin: Antero-medial intercondylar area of tibia
Insertion: Posterior lateral femoral condyle
Direction: From tibia goes laterally and posteriorly (30 degree angle)
What are the 2 bundles of the ACL?
- Antero-medial bundle - taut at full flexion
2. Postero-lateral bundle - taut at full extension
What are the main function of the ACL
Reduces anterior tibial translation
Restricts foot abduction and hyperextension of the tibia
Limiting knee IR
Proprioceptive feedback
After ACL reconstruction surgery, what do people struggle with the most?
Proprioception
ACL loses its proprioceptive fibres
What are the subjective signs of an ACL rupture
Popping sensation
Traumatic knee injury
Instability and giving way - secondary to pain, eccentric loading of the knee (going downstairs)
Joint pain
Haemarthrosis
Mechanism of injury - non-contact, pivot, hyperextension, landing in extension, foot planted, valgus collapse
What is the mechanism of an ACL injury?
Non-contact
Pivot
Hyperextension
Landing in extension
One step-stop deceleration
Can be contact - tackling from behind (side), valgus collapse
Describe that they cant anticipate the event or loss of concentration
Explain valgus collapse
Fixed foot and patient goes to change direction
Ankle eversion
Knee abduction (distal tibia goes away from the midline)
Femoral adduction
Forced medial opening of the knee
30 degree knee flexion
Name the special tests for the ACL
Lachmans
Anterior Draw
Prone Lachman’s
What has the literature stated regarding the sensitivity of diagnosing an ACL injury?
If you get a good subjective information and objective information = almost 100% sensitivity
Mostly done on the chronic stage of injury
What is the best test for acute ACL injuries?
Lachmans = High sens, high spec and high intra-tester reliability
What is the best test for chronic ACL injuries?
Anterior drawer = high sens and high spec
Lachmans also has high sens, high spec and intra-tester reliability
How do you grade ACL laxity?
1 (1mm to 5mm)
2 (6mm to 10mm)
3 (>10mm)
Difficult to feel the difference
What type of physio is the anterior drawer good for?
Inexperienced physios
Why should you not do the pivot shift test?
Can make patients nauseas and they do not like it
Brutal test usually used by surgeons when patients are under anaesthetic
What type of patient is the prone lachmans good for?
Large patients
Should you use imaging for ACL injuries?
Alot of joint line pain = x-ray to rule out bony injuries
MRI has similar diagnostic accuracy to good subjective and objective assessment
MRI before surgery
What is the most common knee pathology?
NICE 2014
Knee OA
How do you diagnose knee OA?
Diagnosis of exclusion - cant find a pathology then send patient for an x-ray
X-ray would confirm knee OA through the Kellgren & Lawrence classification
What is the Kellgren & Lawrence classification?
How to diagnose and grade Knee OA on an x-ray
Joint space narrowing, osteophytes, sclerosis and bone end deformity
Grade 0 - None
Grade 1 Doubtful
Grade 2 Minimal
Grade 3 Moderate
Grade 4 Severe
What is the problems with x-ray and knee OA?
Poor correlation between imaging and pain experience
What is knee OA symptoms, level of pain and level of disability potentially linked to?
Psychosocial factors and central sensitisation
How can you diagnose someone with knee OA?
NICE 2014 Guidelines
Atraumatic knee pain
Activity related joint pain and
> 45 years old and
Morning joint-related stiffness that does not last longer than 30 minutes
How can you manage someone with knee OA with yellow flags?
Reassure that the person does not need an x-ray and how these poorly correlate with pain experience
Educate how increasing strength and balance can reduce pain
Encourage patient to be as active as possible
If conservative management does not work = x-ray to confirm
Just get an x-ray if patient is so anxious and it will help management
What is a patient reported outcome measure for knee OA?
WOMAC
3 Parts - Pain, stiffness and function
high sens and high sens
Pain and stiffness have high ceiling effects but function has low ceiling effect
Low ceiling effect = cant measure higher levels of function
What are the subjective indicators of PFPS?
Nunes et al 2013/Cook et al 2012
Diagnosed through exclusion
Pain during squatting - high sens, moderate spec (most useful
Pain during stair climbing - good sens, moderate spec
Pain during prolonged sitting or flexion - good sens, moderate spec
Pain location - U Shape <5 years
Usual bilateral pain - biomechanics or central sensitisation?