The central fibre areas in the tibial footprint of the posterior cruciate ligament show the highestcontribution to restriction of a posterior drawer force-A biomechanical robotic investigation.

Deichsel A, Briese T, Liu W, Raschke MJ, Albert A, Peez C, Herbst E, Kittl C

Zusammenfassung

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to determine the role of different fibre areas of the tibial footprint of the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) in restraining posterior tibial translation.MethodsA sequential cutting study on cadaveric knee specimens (n = 8) was performed, utilizing a six-degrees-of-freedom robotic test setup. The tibial attachment of the PCL was divided into nine areas, which were sequentially cut in a randomized sequence. After determining the native knee kinematics with 89 N anterior, and posterior tibial translation force at 0 degrees, 30 degrees, 60 degrees and 90 degrees knee flexion, a displacement-controlled protocol was performed replaying the native motion. Utilizing the principle of superposition, the reduction of the restraining force represents the contribution (in-situ forces) of each cut fibre area.ResultsThe PCL was found to contribute 25.3 +/- 11.1% in 0 degrees of flexion, 49.7 +/- 19.2% in 30 degrees of flexion, 58.9 +/- 19.3% in 60 degrees of flexion and 50.6 +/- 15.1% in 90 degrees of flexion, to the restriction of a posterior drawer force. Depending on the flexion angle, every cut area of the tibial PCL footprint was shown to be a significant restrictor of posterior tibial translation (p