Knee proprioception following ACL reconstruction; a prospective trial comparing hamstrings with bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft

We prospectively studied knee proprioception following ACL reconstruction in 40 patients (34 men and six women; mean age 31 years). The patients were allocated into two equal groups; group A underwent reconstruction using hamstrings autograft, and group B underwent reconstruction using bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft. Proprioception was assessed in flexion and extension by the joint position sense UPS) at 15 degrees, 45 degrees and 75 degrees, and time threshold to detection of passive motion (TFDPM) at 15 degrees and 45 degrees, preoperatively and at 3, 6 and 12 months postoperatively. The contralateral healthy knee was used as internal control. No statistical difference was found between the ACL-operated and the contralateral knees in JPS 15 degrees, 45 degrees and 75 degrees at 6 and 12 months, in both study groups. No statistical difference was found between the ACL-operated and the contralateral knees in TTDPM 15 degrees at 6 and 12 months, nor regarding TTDPM 45 degrees at 3, 6 and 12 months, in group A. No statistical difference was found in JPS and TTDPM between the two grafts, at any time period. Knee proprioception returned to normal with ACL reconstruction at 6 months postoperatively, without any statistically significant difference between the autografts used. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.