Surgical Treatment of ACL and ATF Injuries in Athletes

• Published in: Orthopedics & Traumatology Vol. 46; no. 3; pp. 634 - 638
• Main Authors: Miyazato, Takeyuki, Takara, Hiroaki, Matsuda, Naoyuki, Ohmine, Akira, Sinjo, Hirotaka, Ikema, Yasunari, Ibaraki, Kunio, Kadekawa, Kei, Shirota, Shinichi, Yamaguchi, Takeshi, Uesato, Tomomi, Kanaya, Fuminori
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: West-Japanese Society of Orthopedics & Traumatology 1997
• Subjects: anterior cruciate ligament injury; anterior talofibular ligament injury; physical characteristics
• ISSN: 0037-1033; 1349-4333
• DOI: 10.5035/nishiseisai.46.634

We studied 415 cases of ACL and 226 cases of ATF injuries in order to analyze the relationship between the causative incident and the patient's physical characteristics. We classified each case into two groups: contact or non-contact conditions. To study the physical characteristics we measured the tibial plateau angle and notch width index (NWI) of the knee and A-P mortice angle of the ankle on X-ray films and also the patient's joint laxity score. In the non-contact group of ACL injuries, the tibial plateau angle was greater (p<0.05 in male, p<0.01 in female), NWI was smaller (p<0.01 in male and female) and the joint laxity score was higher (p<0.05 in male, p<0.01 in female) than the control group. In the non-contact group of ATF injuries, the A-P mortice angle was smaller (p<0.01 in male, p<0.05 in female) and the joint laxity score was higher (p<0.05 in female) than the control group. In this study, it was suggested that knee and ankle shape and joint laxity were important factors in ACL and ATF injuries. To prevent ACL and ATF injuries, we recommend physical examination to help athletes understand the importance of these physical characteristics.