Gender Differences in Knee Laxity and Function after Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Kim, Do Kyung; Park, Won Hah

Abstract

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction is frequently performed to restore knee stability and function following ACL injury. Little is known about the outcome differences between man and women patients after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was compared between the genders after a minimum of 1 year following arthroscopic ACL reconstruction. Between 2012 and 2015, 30 men (mean age, 27.0+/-8.7 years) and 30 women (mean age, 25.3+/-7.2 years) who had undergone primary ACL reconstructions were recruited from Samsung Medical Centers. We assessed the knee laxity using the KT-2000 arthrometer, and subjective functional questionnaire was assessed with the Lysholm score and International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) subject score. Also we had measured the performance test which is single-leg hop test. As a result, no significant gender differences were found at knee laxity and knee Lyshlom and IKDC score. However, there is significantly difference between men and women with only single-leg hop test. Compared to male patients, female patients reported significantly less single-leg hop distance and less improvement 1 year after reconstruction. Subjective criteria failed to detect clinically significant differences in KT-2000 arthrometer, and subjective functional questionnaire result between men and women. However, we had found that women got less hop distance than men which means more safety functional test must be required before returning to sports.