Mechanisms of anterior cruciate ligament injury

Abstract

Introduction. The goal of this study is to analyze the mechanisms of injury of patients diagnosed with anterior cruciate ligament injury and their correlation with risk factors in our clinical material. Material and Methods. The study included 1,471 patients, 1192 male and 279 female, with a diagnosed anterior cruciate ligament injury, that were surgically treated in the period between the end of January 2012 and the middle of June 2018. Results. Of the total number of women, around 51% sustained the injury when changing direction, 35% during landing, and 12% during a collision. Among men, 46% sustained injuries during a change of direction, 30% during landing, while the percentage of injuries sustained during a collision was higher than among women, amounting to 23%. The impact of gender on the type of injury mechanism and on the injury mechanism is statistically significant. The incidence of left knee injuries is higher in non-contact injuries, while right knee injuries are more common in contact injuries. The level of sports activity showed no statistically significant impact on the type of the mechanism of injury, but its impact on the category of mechanism of injury proved to be statistically significant. The impact of sport on the type of the mechanism of injury, as well as on the mechanism of injury categories was statistically significant. Non-contact injuries commonly occurred during the warm-up, beginning and end of a training session, while collisions mostly occurred halfway through the activity. Contact injuries were most often sustained on grass and training mats, while non-contact injuries occurred more often on other surfaces. Conclusion. Most participants sustained injury through non-contact mechanisms and the most frequent noncontact mechanism is change of direction.