The effect of joint-compressive load and quadriceps muscle force on knee motion in the intact and anterior cruciate ligament-sectioned knee.

To determine the effect of an externally applied joint-compressive load and a quadriceps muscle force on knee motion, we tested nine intact cadaveric knees and four knees after sectioning of the anterior cruciate ligament. Anteroposterior translation was measured at 0 degrees, 15 degrees, 30 degrees, 45 degrees, and 90 degrees of knee flexion after the application of an anteroposterior force of 100 N, a joint-compressive load of 0, 111, 222, 333, or 444 N, and a quadriceps force of 0 or 133 N. Both a joint-compressive load and a quadriceps force significantly decreased total anteroposterior translation by as much as 50% to 66% in intact knees and 42% to 71% in anterior cruciate ligament-sectioned knees. A substantial anterior translation was also found with the application of a joint-compressive load or a quadriceps force and no anterior force. We termed this translation an anterior neutral-position shift. The anterior neutral-position shift was significantly greater in the ligament-sectioned knees compared with the intact knees, so much so that at flexion angles greater than 15 degrees, the application of a 100-N posterior force could not translate the tibia to the most anterior position achieved in the intact knee with a 100-N anterior force.