Abstract
Anterior cruciate ligament injury is a debilitating pathology which may alter lower limb coordination pattern in both intact and affected lower extremities during activities of daily living. Emerging evidence supports the notion that kinematic variables may not be a good indicator to differentiate patients with anterior cruciate ligament deficiency during step descent task. The aim of the present study was to examine alterations in kinematics as well as coordination patterns and coordination variability of both limbs of these patients during a single step descent task. Continuous relative phase technique was used to measure coordination pattern and coordination variability between a group of anterior cruciate ligament deficient (n = 23) and a healthy control group (n = 23). A third order polynomial Curve fitting was utilized to provide a curve that best fitted to the data points of coordination pattern and coordination variability of the healthy control group. This was considered as a reference to compare to that of patient group using nonlinear regression analysis. The results of the present study demonstrated an altered coordination pattern of the supporting shank-thigh and the stepping foot-shank couplings in anterior cruciate ligament deficient subjects. It was further noticed that there was an increased coordination variability in foot-shank and shank-thigh couplings of both supporting and stepping legs. There was no significant difference in the hip, knee and ankle joints kinematics in either side of these patients. Anterior cruciate ligament deficient individuals showed altered strategies in both intact and affected legs, with increased coordination variability. Kinematic data did not indicate any significant difference between the two groups. It could be concluded that more sophisticated dynamic approach such as continuous relative phase would uncover discrepancies between the healthy and anterior cruciate ligament deficient individuals.
Highlights
Deficiency of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reduces the stability of the knee joint and compromises lower limb coordination during functional tasks [1,2]
There was a difference in the coordination pattern of the supporting shank-thigh between the healthy and ACL deficient (ACLD) subjects
The aim of the present study was to evaluate how the coordination patterns and kinematics of the ACLD subjects may be affected during a single-step descent
Summary
Deficiency of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reduces the stability of the knee joint and compromises lower limb coordination during functional tasks [1,2]. It is reported that the lower limb flexion/extension moment of ACL deficient (ACLD) subjects was substantially different from those of normal population. This was the case for both lower limbs and was spared from the kinematics of movement [5]. Such a deficiency has tremendous effects on the ipsilateral side and on other joints or segments in the countralateral side [3,5,6,7]. In the case of unilateral ACL injuries, it is quite possible to observe altered coordination patterns in both limbs with or without changes in the kinematics of movement
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