The natural history of the meniscus in anterior cruciate insufficiency. Arthroscopic analysis

Abstract

We studied arthroscopically the meniscal pathology in 100 patients with functional instabffity of the knee from isolated rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament at an average time of three years after injury. Meniscal tears were observed in 86 patients and multiple lesions of both menisci were common. An incomplete longitudinal cleavage, visible on both surfaces of the posterior horn, was seen in more than half the knees and seemed to indicate progressive meniscal deterioration. Clinical examination was unreliable and we suggest that arthroscopic assessment is necessary for accurate diagnosis and staging. After disruption of the anterior cruciate ligament meniscal tears are common and patients often show functional deterioration with time (Noyes et a! 1983; Satku, Kumar and Ngoi 1986). Paterson and Trickey (1983) suggested that meniscal tears may cause chronic instability to become worse and they showed that function may improve after meniscectomy. In the longer term, Inferior 12 37

Cruciate ligament integrity in osteoarthritis of the knee

“…This high prevalence makes it impossible to determine the combined versus the individual effects of ACL tears and meniscal tears on OA outcomes. Indeed, many of these meniscal tears probably occurred months to years after the original ACL injury (27,28). We have also previously reported that in this sample, meniscal tears have no association with OA pain severity (29).…”

Anterior medial meniscus detachment and anterior cruciate ligament tear

“…The injury mechanism is unclear: it would appear that knees in which the AHMM is not directly attached to the tibia [8] are predisposed to this type of meniscal injury. The instability caused by tearing of the ACL may also contribute to this injury, through a mechanism similar to that reported by Finsterbush [3] and Irvine [6]. This paper reports on two cases of injury-induced detachment of the AHMM in knees with a torn ACL.…”

“…In a series of 98 knees with chronic ACL damage, Finsterbush [3] observed 14 cases of loosening and subluxation of the AHMM. Irvine [6] maintains that in unstable knees meniscal tears extend anteriorly. In the second case reported here, the initial injury may have been a bucket-handle tear of the anterior portion of the MM; following rupture of the posterior portion of the handle, an anterior flap would be left locked in the intercondylar notch.…”

The Effect of Arm Position on Lower Extremity Kinematics during a Single Limb Drop Landing: A Preliminary Study

“…The effects of ACL injury can often be debilitating and result in long-term functional impairment including knee instability [5] and changes in motor unit recruitment during low-level contractions [6]. Subsequently, this often causes further damage of the menisci and articular surfaces which reduces knee function and in turn reduces a patient's level of physical activity [7,8].…”