No abstract

We have designed a scoring scale for knee ligament surgery follow-up emphasizing evaluation of symptoms of instability. Instability is defined as "giving way" during activity. Our scoring scale was compared to a slightly modified Larson scale in patients with anteromedial and/or anterolateral instability, posterolateral and straight posterior instability, chondromalacia patellae, and meniscus lesion. The two scales gave basically the same results in patients with meniscus rupture. In patients with unstable knees, the new scale gave a significantly lower total score. Thus, the new scale evaluates functional impairment due to clinical instability better than the modified Larson scale. The total score, with the new scoring scale, corresponded to the patients' own opinion of function and to the presence or absence of signs of instability.

After 25 years of changes in treatment of anterior cruciate ligament injuries, the Lysholm knee score and the Tegner activity scale demonstrated acceptable psychometric parameters as patient-administered scores and showed acceptable responsiveness to be used in early return to function after anterior cruciate ligament treatment.

Sixty runners belonging to two clubs were followed for 1 year with regard to training and injury. There were 55 injuries in 39 athletes. The injury rate per 1,000 hours of training was 2.5 in long-distance/marathon runners and 5.6 to 5.8 in sprinters and middle-distance runners. There were significant differences in the injury rate in different periods of the 12 month study, the highest rates occurring in spring and summer. In marathon runners there was a significant correlation between the injury rate during any 1 month and the distance covered during the preceding month (r = 0.59). In a retrospective analysis of the cause of injury, a training error alone or in combination with other factors was the most common injury-provoking factor (72%). The injury pattern varied among the three groups of runners: hamstring strain and tendinitis were most common in sprinters, backache and hip problems were most common in middle-distance runners, and foot problems were most common in marathon runners.

A performance test simulating components of sports was devised to evaluate dysfunction after ACL injury. The test included a one-leg hop, running in a figure of eight (straight running and turn running measured separately), running up and down a spiral staircase, and running up and down a slope. Twenty-six men with ACL injury, most of them soccer players, and 66 uninjured male soccer players were studied. Patients with ACL injury performed significantly less well than the uninjured players. Test items of special interest were turn running in the figure of eight, stair running, and slope running, all of which place high demand on the knee. It is concluded that a performance test of this design is useful for monitoring rehabilitation and for evaluating the patient's condition. Before sports can be resumed at the original level, normal strength and normal performance should be regained.