Limited Knee Extension Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury

Shannon L. Snow, Shaun J. O'Laughlin

DOI: 10.2519/jospt.2009.0408

The patient was a 24-year-old male with a 1-month history of right knee pain following a twisting injury. The patient was seen by his physician and radiographs of the right knee were taken and interpreted as normal. He was then referred to physical therapy. Magnetic resonance imaging of the right knee was ordered by the physical therapist because of concern over an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, and revealed a complete tear of the ACL, with the distal aspect of the ACL flipped anteriorly. It was hypothesized that the positioning of the distal segment of the ACL contributed to the loss of full knee extension in this patient. After recognition of the ACL tear, the patient was referred to an orthopaedic surgeon and underwent an ACL reconstruction 2 weeks later.

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2009;39(8):635. doi:10.2519/jospt.2009.0408

KEY WORDS: ACL, magnetic resonance imaging, radiographs

The patient was a 24-year-old male with a 1-month history of right knee pain following a twisting injury. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a complete tear of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

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