Study on the correlation between anatomical morphology of the knee joint and non-contact anterior cruciate ligament injury in young males

LUO Chao-ran; XU Shang-wen; LAN Li-min; HU Ya-nuo; XIAO Hui

doi:10.16048/j.issn.2095-5561.2025.03.07

Abstract：Objective To explore the correlation between anatomical morphology of the knee joint and non-contact anterior cruciate ligament(ACL)injury in young males,and to provide evidence for early clinical prevention and scientific exercise.Methods A total of 84 young male patients with non-contact ACL injury admitted to the 900th Hospital of PLA Joint Logistic Support Force from June 2020 to May 2023 were selected as the injury group,aged 24(21,28)years old,ranged from 17 to 40 years old.All patients in the the injury group were diagnosed with ACL injury by surgery and magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)examination of the injured knee joint was performed within 2 weeks before the surgery.A total of 81 young men without ACL injury confirmed by clinical and imaging diagnosis were selected as the non-injury group,aged 26(22,31)years old,ranged from 19 to 40 years old.MRI examination data of the two groups were collected to analyze the anatomical morphological differences of the knee joint,including femoral condyle width,intercondylar height,intercondylar width,notch shape index,notch width index,medial tibial slope,medial-cartilage slope,lateral tibial slope(LTS),lateral-cartilage slope(LCS),medial-lateral plateau slope(MLPS)and femoral axis-Blumensaat line angle(FABA).Results Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that an increase in FABA,LCS and MLPS were independent risk factors for non-contact ACL injury in young males(P＜0.05),while an increase in LTS was an independent protective factor for non-contact ACL injury in young males(P＜0.05).The area under receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve of FABA,MLPS,LTS and LCS for predicting non-contact ACL injury was 0.890,0.668,0.705 and 0.830,with the sensitivity of 0.690,0.714,0.762 and 0.857,with the specificity of 0.938,0.556,0.605 and 0.778,respectively.Delong test showed that the area under ROC curve of FABA and LCS was larger than LTS and MLPS,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).There was no significant difference in the area under ROC curve between FABA and LCS(P＞0.05).Conclusion FABA,LTS,LCS and MLPS measured by MRI are independent influence factors for non-contact ACL injury in young males,among which FABA and LCS have higher predictive value for non-contact ACL injury.