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Posterior tibial slope and meniscal slope correlate with in vivo tibial internal rotation during running and drop jump

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Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy Aims and scope

Abstract

Purpose

The relationship between tibial bony and meniscus anatomy and knee kinematics during in vivo, high-impact activities remains unclear. This study aimed to determine if the posterior tibial slope (PTS) and meniscal slope (MS) are associated with in vivo anterior–posterior translation and internal tibia rotation during running and double-leg drop jumps in healthy knees.

Methods

Nineteen collegiate athletes performed fast running at 5.0 m/s on an instrumented treadmill and double-leg drop jump from a 60 cm platform while biplane radiographs of the knee were acquired at 150 Hz. Tibiofemoral kinematics were determined using a validated model-based tracking process. Medial and lateral PTS and MS were measured using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Results

In fast running, more internal tibia rotation was associated with greater PTS (ρ = 0.336, P = 0.039) and MS (ρ = 0.405, P = 0.012) in the medial knee compartment. In the double-leg drop jump, more internal tibia rotation was associated with greater PTS (ρ = 0.431, P = 0.007) and MS (ρ = 0.323, P = 0.005) in the medial knee compartment, as well as a greater PTS in the lateral knee compartment (ρ = 0.445, P = 0.005).

Conclusion

These findings suggest that the medial and lateral PTS and medial MS are associated with the amount of knee rotation during high-impact activities. These in vivo findings improve our understanding of ACL injury risk by linking bone and meniscus morphology to dynamic kinematics.

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Funding

Funding was received from the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UPMC Freddie Fu Sports Medicine Center, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Toshikazu Tanaka, Kyohei Nishida, Caiqi Xu & Freddie Fu

  2. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan

    Toshikazu Tanaka & Kyohei Nishida

  3. Biodynamics Laboratory, University of Pittsburgh, Rivertech Building Complex, 3820 South Water Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15203, USA

    Toshikazu Tanaka, Tom Gale, Kyohei Nishida, Caiqi Xu & William Anderst

  4. Department of Sports Medicine, Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

    Caiqi Xu

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  1. Toshikazu Tanaka
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Contributions

TT chiefly drafted the manuscript and carried out the acquisition of data, processing of data, and the analysis and interpretation of data. TG carried out the acquisition of data and the analysis of data. KN and CX carried out the acquisition of data and processing of data. WA chiefly drafted the manuscript and carried out the design of the study and revised the manuscript. FF contributed to study design and project supervision. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to William Anderst.

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Conflict of interest

FF received personal fees and non-financial support from Smith & Nephew.

Ethical approval

IRB-approved study (IRB No. 19080016).

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A total of 19 participants provided informed written consent to participate.

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Tanaka, T., Gale, T., Nishida, K. et al. Posterior tibial slope and meniscal slope correlate with in vivo tibial internal rotation during running and drop jump. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 31, 2366–2373 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-022-07163-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-022-07163-4

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