Relaxin receptors in the human female anterior cruciate ligament.

Background: Noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injuries occur two to eight times more often in women than in men. Changes in ligament laxity and strength have been associated with female hormones such as relaxin.

Hypothesis: Relaxin receptors are present within the female anterior cruciate ligament.

Knee function after anterior cruciate ligament injury in elite collegiate athletes.

Background: Anterior cruciate ligament injuries are common in athletes, but there are few studies of long-term outcomes.

Hypothesis: Long-term knee function of anterior cruciate ligament-injured athletes is inferior to that of their uninjured teammates.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Patients' reasons for undergoing total hip arthroplasty can change over time.

The purpose of this study was to determine if a patient's reasons for undergoing a primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) changed at 1 year follow-up and, if the reasons did change, how does this change influence patient satisfaction with the procedure. Patients undergoing THA (101 patients) were evaluated with the McMaster Toronto Arthritis Patient Preference Disability (MACTAR) questionnaire and questions related to their expectations regarding the procedure. With the exception of pain and walking, most patients did not select the same preoperative and postoperative reasons for undergoing the procedure.

Effects of femoral tunnel placement on knee laxity and forces in an anterior cruciate ligament graft.

The purpose of this study was to measure the effects of variation in placement of the femoral tunnel upon knee laxity, graft pretension required to restore normal anterior-posterior (AP) laxity and graft forces following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Two variants in tunnel position were studied: (1) AP position along the medial border of the lateral femoral condyle (at a standard 11 o'clock notch orientation) and (2) orientation along the arc of the femoral notch (o'clock position) at a fixed distance of 6-7 mm anterior to the posterior wall. AP laxity and forces in the native ACL were measured in fresh frozen cadaveric knee specimens during passive knee flexion-extension under the following modes of tibial loading: no external tibial force, anterior tibial force, varus-valgus moment, and internal-external tibial torque.