The contribution of the cruciate ligaments to the load-displacement characteristics of the human knee joint

Piziali, R. L.; Rastegar, J.; Nagel, D. A.; Schurman, D. J.

Affiliations

¹Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, Calif. 94305

²Department of General Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, III. 61801

³Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, Stanford University, Stanford, Calif. 94305

Abstract

Human knee specimens were subjected to anterior-posterior, medial-lateral, varus-valgus, and torsional displacement tests. Loads were recorded for the intact joint and for the joint with all soft tissues cut except for the cruciate ligaments. The effect of condylar interference was determined for anterior-posterior, medial-lateral, and torsional displacements. The variation in load with flexion angle was considerable for medial-lateral (0–90-deg flexion) displacements, and less for varus-valgus (0–45-deg flexion) displacements. The cruciates were found to carry almost the entire anterior-posterior load; they carried a significant percentage of the medial-lateral load which varied considerably with flexion angle. A small, but not insignificant percentage of the varus-valgus load was carried by the cruciates and the variations with flexion angle were small. In torsion, the cruciates resisted only internal rotation. In the tested displacement ranges, condylar interference had a small effect on the medial-lateral load but did not affect anterior-posterior or torsional loads.

Links

DOI: 10.1115/1.3138223

PubMed: 6965189

WoS: A1980KT68900001

History

Received: 1979-06-25

Revised: 1980-06-05

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Cited By (21)

Year	Entry
1990	Butler DL, Guan Y. Biomechanics of the anterior cruciate ligament and its replacements. In: Mow VC, Ratcliffe A, Woo SL-Y, eds. Biomechanics of Diarthrodial Joints. Vol 1. New York, NY: Springer-Verlag; 1990:105-154.
2003	Bartsch AJ, Litsky AS, Herriott RG, McFadden JD. Posterior cruciate ligament response to proximal tibia impacts. In: Proceedings of the 31st International Workshop on Human Subjects for Biomechanical Research. October 23, 2003; San Diego, CA.11-22.
2003	Kerrigan JR, Ivarsson BJ, Bose D, Madeley NJ, Millington SA, Bhalla KS, Crandall JR. Rate-sensitive constitutive and failure properties of human collateral knee ligaments. In: Proceedings of the 2003 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact. September 25, 2003; Lisbon, Portugal.177-190.
2005	van Dommelen JAW, Ivarsson BJ, Jolandan MM, Millington SA, Raut M, Kerrigan JR, Crandall JR, Diduch DR. Characterization of the rate-dependent mechanical properties and failure of human knee ligaments. In: Proceedings of the SAE World Congress & Exhibition. April 11-14, 2005; Detroit, MI. Warrendale, PA: Society of Automotive Engineers. SAE 2005-01-0293.
1987	Woo SL-Y, Inoue M, McGurk-Burleson E, Gomez MA. Treatment of the medial collateral ligament injury, II: structure and function of canine knees in response to differing treatment regimens. Am J Sports Med. January–February 1987;15(1):22-29.
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