LESION OF THE ANTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT AS THE CAUSE OF LOCKED KNEE

Knee injuries are most common among the young, physically active people. Immediately after a knee injury, pain, swelling and flexion contracture occur to a smaller or greater extent. Flexion contracture or a locked knee can occur when there is a mechanical barrier inside the joint. Apart from true and, from the mechanical point of view, a justifiable locked knee, there is also a pseudo-locked knee. A pseudo-locked knee is a condition in which there is a limitation of full knee extension and absence of lateral lower leg rotation, and it is not caused by a mechanical factor – no internal structures are blocked inside the joint. The aim of the study was to determine the frequency of lesion of the anterior cruciate knee ligament in patients with a locked knee. At the Orthopedic Surgery Department at the Military Hospital in Niš, during the period from May 16, 2009 to September 21, 2010 there were 85 knee arthroscopies performed on patients exhibiting clinical signs of a locked knee. Arthroscopically, it was found that the most common cause of a locked knee in the analyzed group was the lesion of the anterior cruciate ligament (complete, partial, and in combination with the lesion of the meniscus) in 35 (41,2%) examinees, and in 21 (24,7%) examinees the cause of a locked knee was the lesion of the medial meniscus. Acta Medica Medianae 2016;55(4):92-96.