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Increased lateral tibial slope cited as risk factor for ACL injury in male collegiate football players
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BOSTON — Male collegiate football players with a narrow lateral femoral condyle width and an increased medial and lateral tibial slope were predisposed to ACL injury, according to results presented at the Arthroscopy Association of North America Annual Meeting.
“A narrower lateral femoral condylar width and increased medial lateral tibial slope predisposed male football players to ACL injury, and this might be relevant as people with these characteristics may be considered high risk and may benefit from enrollment in an ACL prevention program,” Carola F. van Eck, MD, PhD, said in her presentation.
Of 90 male collegiate football players who underwent MRI for a knee injury, van Eck and her colleagues found 45 had an ACL injury and 45 had an intact ACL. Researchers measured medial and lateral condylar width, medial and lateral plateau width, notch width, bicondylar width and slope of the medial and lateral tibial plateau. Researchers also calculated the notch width index.
Results showed excellent reliability for all measurements. Investigators noted increased lateral femoral condylar width, increased medial tibial plateau slope and increased lateral tibial plateau slope as specific risk factors for ACL injury using a univariate analysis.
“But when we performed a multiple regression analysis, only an increased lateral tibial slope proved to be an independent risk factor for ACL injury,” van Eck said in her presentation. – by Casey Tingle
Reference:
van Eck CF, et al. Paper #SS-17. Presented at: Arthroscopy Association of North America Annual Meeting; April 14-16, 2016; Boston.
Disclosure: van Eck reports no relevant financial disclosures.