Knee Function after ACL Injury - genetic predisposition, clinical and laboratory assessment and long term consequences.

Project description

Injury of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the knee is common, and treated with physiotherapy with or without surgery. There is still no evidence which is the best option, with respect to long term function and the risk of developing osteoarthritis (OA). This is partly due to a lack of gold standard on how to assess knee function and our lack of understanding of possible hereditary risk factors. Our aims are 1) to comprehensively evaluate knee function after ACL injury regarding the long term consequences and impact on daily life, and how the treatment given initially relates to the outcome; 2) to provide new and improved clinical knee assessment, as well as protocols for laboratory based movement assessment targeting the functional control of the knee, which do not currently exist; 3) explore genetic predisposition with respect to ligament tissue structure, development of OA, and physical risk taking, all extremely novel. We study a unique cohort with two groups who had ACL injury on average 23 (17-31) years ago: one group had physiotherapy and surgery and the other physiotherapy alone, and compare to healthy controls. Significance: There is no equivalent study with extensive data collection including movement analysis so long after injury. We strive to meet the highlighted need for improved physiotherapy tools to guide and evaluate treatment, tailored to the individual. The genetic approach may shed a completely new light on injury prevention.