Drop Vertical Jump Landing Mechanics Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction With and Without Lateral Extra-Articular Tenodesis

The use of combined anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) plus lateral extra-articular tenodesis (LET) reconstruction has shown promising results during clinical testing, however, no studies have examined its effectiveness during a dynamic functional task. We used the drop vertical jump (DVJ) to compare in vivo biomechanics of ACL reconstructed patients with and without LET. Our primary outcome was peak knee abduction moment during stance phase. Secondary kinetic and kinematic outcomes included peak initial contact and stance values for knee abduction angle, knee flexion moment and angle, knee internal rotation moment and angle, and vertical ground reaction force. We also assessed fear associated with physical activity between patients who were and were not able to perform the DVJ test. We found no significant differences between treatment groups at six months postoperative. This thesis presents the preliminary results of a continuing study and at this time no definitive conclusions can be made