Anterior knee pain 7 years after an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with a bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft.

In order to evaluate the occurrence and predicting factors of anterior knee pain in patients after an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with a bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft, a functional, clinical and radiographic evaluation was performed on 91 patients on average 7 years after the surgery. Also, the isokinetic muscle torque was measured. At 7 years, anterior knee pain, as classified by the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC), was absent in 40 patients, mild in 47 patients, and moderate in 4 patients. None was classified as suffering from severe anterior knee pain. In the logistic regression analysis of predicting factors (forward-stepping), knee extension torque deficit of the operated limb was the only factor that showed significant association with anterior knee pain. The other objective measurements of the knee (flexion torque deficit, range of motion, stability evaluation, and radiographic evaluation of the knee) were not associated with anterior knee pain. Subjectively and not surprisingly, the patients without anterior knee pain were more often satisfied with the overall outcome than the patients with anterior knee pain. Also, the Lysholm and Marshall knee scores and the final outcome in the IKDC rating scale were significantly better in patients without than with anterior knee pain.