A KINEMATIC ANALYSIS ON AN ACL DEFICIENT KNEE

摘要

A torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the mote frequently occurring knee injuries plaguing both athletes and the general population. This injury typically results in severe knee instability thereby limiting the activities the injured is able to perform. Currently, surgical reconstruction is the most common option to restore knee stability and allow the injured subject to return to full functionality (i.e. participation in athletic and recreational activities as desired). However, small populations of individuals who rupture their ACL forego surgery yet still remain fully functional. We hypothesize that these subjects, referred to as "copers", alter the control strategy of the muscles crossing the knee joint to compensate for their ACL-deficient knee.