Active clinical trials for "Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries"

This clinical trial evaluates interventions to maximize muscle function and improve cartilage health following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Improving muscle function may improve patient outcomes, improve joint mechanics, and potentially serve as a prevention approach for post-traumatic knee osteoarthritis. Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a disabling disease that carries a substantial burden to society and to the individual affected.

Background: Arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament(ACL) reconstruction is so far the gold standard for the treatment of ACL ruptures, but this technique still suffers from problems of tendon-bone healing, bone tunnel enlargement, bone resorption, a low rate of return to motion,etc. In recent years, due to the innovation of medical materials and surgical techniques, anterior cruciate ligament repair technology has returned to the field of vision of clinical doctors. This technique has the advantages of preserving the natural ligaments and their proprioceptive sensation, avoiding the bone injury of the tunnel and the complications of the donor site. However, there is still a lack of high-quality clinical randomized controlled trails to provide evidence of the effect of arthroscopic ACL repair. Hypothesis: Arthroscopic ACL repair is comparable to ACL reconstruction in patients with ACL tears (Sherman grades I and II). Study Design: This study was a prospective, multicenter, randomized, double-blinded, parallel-controlled, non-inferiority trial design. A total of 330 patients with ACL tears were randomly divided into 2 groups, and were randomly assigned to the experimental group (arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament repair) and the control group (arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction) according to 1:1. Follow-up knee function and other scores were performed at 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years after surgery, and the total study time is expected to be 3 years.

Quadriceps muscle strength is one of the key determinants for patients to fulfill the Return-to-Play (RTP) criteria after an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), in which the muscle size is directly linked to muscle strength. Quadriceps muscle atrophy is unavoidable after ACLR, but the rehabilitation program should increase quadriceps muscle mass. However, despite good rehabilitation compliance, some patient's progress is sub-par and fail to regain muscle mass. Quadriceps muscle atrophy can persist beyond the completion of the rehabilitation program in almost half the patients and the reason behind this is still unknown. This represents an area that requires significant investigation, as quadriceps muscle atrophy and weakness have been shown to be determinants of poor knee function, decreased performance in sports and increased risk of reinjury. Quadriceps muscle atrophy after ACLR is well documented. This can be due to a decreased ability to regain muscle mass with rehabilitation. Athletes are one of the high-risk groups for vitamin D insufficiencies. Vitamin D deficiency can potentially result in decreased hypertrophy when exercising the muscle, leading to a poorer outcome in rehabilitation. Vitamin D has long been recognized for its effect on musculoskeletal health. It can have a direct effect on muscle hypertrophy by acting on specific vitamin D receptors (VDRs) on myocytes, and sufficient or increased levels of vitamin D in patients have been found to correlate with an increase in the size, number, and strength of muscle fibres. Quadriceps muscle hypertrophy after ACLR is triggered by exercise training, facilitated by diet and a number of intrinsic factors. As the rehabilitation programs and diets are similar in patients with varying extents of quadriceps muscle atrophy, individual responses (intrinsic factors) to exercise training may account for the resulting persistent quadriceps muscle atrophy. In this study, the investigators hypothesize that the deficiency of vitamin D may contribute to persistent quadriceps atrophy and weakness. With a stringent double-blinded randomized-controlled-trial (RCT) research design, our proposal will then address the research questions: 'Does vitamin D supplements improve the vitamin D deficiency status in patients after ACL reconstruction?', and 'Does vitamin D supplements improve quadriceps muscle strength for patients after ACLR?'

Currently, most patients with an anterior cruciate ligament injury undergo surgery. There is a general belief that surgical reconstruction is necessary to safely return to sports and to prevent early knee osteoarthritis or additional meniscus injuries. But there is insufficient scientific evidence to support this belief. Moreover, several studies show that surgical reconstruction of the cruciate ligament does not guarantee successful return to sports or the prevention of osteoarthritis and secondary meniscus injuries. Therefore, immediate surgery after an anterior cruciate ligament injury is questioned. So far, only two RCTs (KANON study and COMPARE study) have assessed this, and they could not show that immediate reconstruction is an added value (in terms of symptoms, knee function, activity level, osteoarthritis or additional meniscal injuries) compared to a conservative approach consisting of rehabilitation and late surgery for persistent knee instability. Therefore, this additional multicenter RCT, aims to 1) verify these results and 2) to identify predictors that predict which patients in the conservative group will not require late surgery. This has not been investigated to date. It is suspected that factors such as symptoms, strength, findings on the MRI scan and psychological factors may play a role in whether or not a patient will be able to successfully rehabilitate without surgical repair. This information is invaluable to physicians because it allows them to decide which treatment is best for the patient.

Anterior cruciate ligament injuries are one of the most common sports knee injuries. Their effect on the knee joint can be detrimental with patients experiencing instability and progressive damage of the intraarticular structures. Therefore, anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) is often indicated. Multiple graft option exist, including autograft, allograft and xenograft tissues, with autografts being considered as a first-choice source of reconstructed ligament in most cases. Two most common harvested autografts are hamstring tendons (semitendinosus or semitendinosus and gracilis tendons; ST or STG) and patellar tendon with two bone blocks (bone - patellar tendon - bone; BPTB). However, in the recent literature there is an increasing trend towards use of quadriceps tendon autograft (QT). Multiple techniques of harvesting this graft were described, including both partial and complete thickness of the tendon. Another issue is whether bone block from the upper pole of the patella is harvested along with the soft tissues (quadriceps tendon bone graft, QTB). The aim of this study is to add to the body of knowledge concerning full-thickness quadriceps tendon-bone autograft (QTB) used in ACLR. The primary outcome consists of The International Knee Documentation Committee Questionnaire (IKDC), the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) and retear rate.

The goal of this observational study is to compare patient outcomes for reconstructive surgery of ACL tears. This study utilizes two randomized groups, one being the control group that receives standard ACL reconstructive surgery, while the other is the test group at will receive an injection of stem cells taken from elsewhere within the body. The main objectives are to determine the usefulness of stem cells as a cost-effective implant in reconstructive surgery and to determine if the stem cells provide more optimized healing outcomes. Participants will: Receive ACL reconstructive surgery as normal One-half of the participants will receive stem cells at the repair site as the test group All participants will have 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 month followups to chart their recovery progress Thus, the outcomes of the group receiving stem cell injections will be compared directly with the outcomes of the standard ACL reconstructive care group.

The purpose of this study is to explore the development of, and patient outcomes associated with, the use of individually printed knee extender in conjunction with a video-based home pre-habilitation program for patients who have suffered an ACL rupture before surgery.

This study will compare Anterior Cruciate Reconstruction with or without Anterolateral Ligament Reconstruction in patients with ACL injury. The purpose of this study is evaluate if addition of ALLr to ACLr provides better clinical, radiological and laboratory outcomes.

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are extremely common. On average, 50% of individuals suffering an ACL injury will develop radiographic osteoarthritis (OA) 10 to 20 years after injury. Unfortunately, ACL reconstruction does not prevent risk of future OA. Interleukin-1 (IL-1) levels in the human knee joint increase transiently after an ACL injury. In animal experiments, if interleukin-1 levels are increased in the joint, this alone causes arthritis to occur. Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) is a naturally occurring inhibitor of IL-1. However, in ACL injuries the balance of these two proteins is disturbed transiently after injury, with the effects of IL-1 dominating this balance. In a large animal model of ACL injury, injection of IL-1Ra into the knee joint after ACL injury significantly decreased the amount of arthritis that was later observed. Thus, the investigators hypothesize that early injection of IL-1 inhibitor (IL-1Ra) into the knee joint of patients suffering recent ACL injury will decrease the incidence of cartilage damage later in life. After appropriate IRB approval, a total of 32 active patients will be randomized into one of two treatment groups. Group 1 will receive removal of the knee joint fluid (aspiration of hemarthrosis) using a needle and syringe within 1 to 2 weeks of injury. Following aspiration of the knee joint, an injection of 5 milliliters (mls) of sterile saline (as a placebo control) will be administered. In addition, a second knee aspiration procedure and an injection of 5mls of sterile saline into the injured knee joint will be performed at 3 to 5 days after the initial injection. Group 2 will receive aspiration of the knee hemarthrosis as described in group 1 as well as intra-articular administration of 150mg (~5mls) of anakinra (rhIL-1Ra) within 1 to 2 weeks of ACL injury. In addition, a second knee aspiration and intra-articular administration of 150mg (~5mls) of anakinra (rhIL-1Ra) will be performed at 3 to 5 days after the initial injection. Thus, all patients in this randomized placebo-controlled trial will undergo two injection procedures prior to surgery. Investigators will analyze subjects self-reported function and pain scores as well as urinary levels of cartilage breakdown products over time. Additionally, MRI studies will be used to compare MRI findings among patients in these 2 treatment groups. Urine samples will be obtain prior to surgery, at the time of surgery and at multiple time points after surgery (3, 6, 9, 12 and 24 months after surgery). Subjective outcome measure assessments (surveys) will be completed by participants prior to surgery and then again at 6, 9, 12 and 24 months post-operatively. MRI studies will be obtained at 1 year and 2 years following surgery. Additional, MRI studies at time points are optional and highly encouraged. These additional MRIs are at no cost to the patient.

A rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a severe injury of the knee. The current gold Standard treatment for young and active patients with instability, is a surgical ACL reconstruction. However, there still is no consensus on which graft is best suited for this.The aim of the current multi-center randomized controlled trial was to investigate the hypothesis that an anatomic single bundle anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with a (flat) quadriceps tendon autograft is at least as effective as reconstruction of the ruptured anterior cruciate ligament with a patella tendon autograft or a hamstringtendon autograft, in terms of failure, measured 2 years postoperatively. Failure is defined gedefinieerd as pathologicai laxity, complaints of knee instability in the absence of any pathological laxity and/or discontinuïty ofthe graft on MRl or arthroscopy.