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Periarticular muscle stimulation controls anterior tibial laxity after experimental ACL section: an experimental study

  • Arthroscopy and Sports Medicine
  • Published:
Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background and purpose

Besides current strategies to treat potentially disabling anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, a new and innovative approach was designed based on electrical stimulation of the muscle to prevent unwanted displacement of the tibia relative to the femur. Our aim was to measure muscular strain and anterior tibial translation (ATT) in a controlled study using an animal model of ACL-deficient knee undergoing muscular electric stimulation.

Methods

Seventeen cat knees under tibial anterior traction of 24.5 N were studied before and after ACL transection. Muscular fiber length variation was obtained by ultrasonomicrometry and ATT by video recordings at the beginning, during, and at the end of the movement. Square pulses of 0.2 ms with 5 V were applied in trains of 500, 100, and 20 ms simultaneously to both the quadriceps and hamstrings before and immediately after traction.

Results

Electric stimulation of ACL-deficient knees normalized muscular strain to values of control knees. An increased resistance to muscular lengthening was observed in stimulated knees. Stimulation before traction maintained similar ATT than control knees during the subsequent traction.

Discussion

Electric muscular stimulation in the ACL-deficient knee provoked periarticular muscle contraction, controlling ATT when time-adjusted stimulus (before traction) was used. This suggested that artificially inducing the muscular response could help to control anterior knee laxity after ACL injury.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported with a grant by F.I.S. (Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias; 01/0371). The authors have received no other support for this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unidad de Ortopedia Pediátrica, Hospital Infantil, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Paseo de la Castellana, 261, 28046, Madrid, Spain

    Nuria Bonsfills

  2. Departamento de Anatomía, Histología y Neurociencia, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Angel Nuñez

  3. Departamento de Cirugía, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Enrique Gomez-Barrena

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  1. Nuria Bonsfills
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  2. Angel Nuñez
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  3. Enrique Gomez-Barrena
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Correspondence to Nuria Bonsfills.

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Bonsfills, N., Nuñez, A. & Gomez-Barrena, E. Periarticular muscle stimulation controls anterior tibial laxity after experimental ACL section: an experimental study. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg 129, 1053–1061 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00402-008-0763-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00402-008-0763-y

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