Abstract des Autors

We examined the use of selected performance tests to describe function in individuals with deficient anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL). Ten subjects with ACL-deficient knees and 10 control subjects were tested in four different tasks: straight running, slalom circuit, figure-of-eight running, and hop test. The times achieved by the subjects in the slalom circuit and figure-of-eight running tasks were expressed as ratios of the time obtained in the straight running task. All subjects had clinical ACL ligament laxity confirmed by knee arthrometry and knee functional status recorded using the Lysholm knee scoring scale (LKSS). Differences between groups were used to examine relationships between the performance tests and the LKSS and the arthrometer data for the ACL-deficient group. Results show that the figure-of-eight ratio is the best test for distinguishing normal and ACL-deficient knees. The arthrometer data and the LKSS were significantly correlated with the hop index but not with the other performance tasks. The three performance tasks (straight running, figure-of-eight running, and hop test) are easy to perform and require minimal equipment, but require a high level of patient cooperation, and should be repeated three times, recording only the best score. Verf.-Referat