Individuals with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) are at a higher risk for subsequent anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears. Risk factors for ACL injuries likely involve a combination of anatomical, biomechanical, and neuromuscular factors. Dynamic knee valgus has been indicated as a possible biomechanical factor for future ACL injuries. Given that knee valgus is often accompanied by contralateral pelvic drop during single-leg activities, a dynamic valgus index (DVI) that quantifies combined kinematics of the knee and hip in the frontal plane has recently been developed. As the premise of asymmetrical DVI between limbs in the ACLR population has not been examined, this cross-sectional study was conducted with the aim to compare DVI between individuals with ACLR and healthy controls. Videos were taken for 12 participants with ACLR and 20 healthy controls when they performed single-leg hopping. One-way ANOVA revealed a higher DVI in the injured limb of the ACLR group when compared to their non-injured limb and to the healthy limb of the control group. As our data showed increased DVI in the injured limb of the ACLR group, the DVI approach accounting for hip and knee kinematics may be used to identify frontal plane movement deficits during single-leg hopping in individuals with ACLR.
Keywords: anterior cruciate ligament; biomechanics; knee; post-surgical; single-leg hop.