A Quantifiable Risk Factor for ACL Injury: Applied Mathematics to Model the Posterolateral Tibial Plateau Surface Geometry.

Background: The mechanism for traumatic ruptures of the native anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is frequently a noncontact injury involving a valgus moment with internal rotation of the tibia. The abnormal rotation and translation of the lateral femoral condyle posteroinferiorly relative to the lateral tibial plateau is thought to be related to the geometry of the tibial plateau.

Purpose/hypothesis: The purpose of the study was to mathematically model the posterior tibial plateau geometry in patients with ACL injuries and compare it with that of matched controls.