The position of anterior cruciate ligament in frontal and sagittal plane and its relation to the inner side of the lateral femoral condyle

The position of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the anatomical factors that lead to its injury. We evaluated 66 patients divided in two groups: 33 patients in the examined group with a diagnosed ACL lesion, and 33 patients in the control group with diagnosed patellofemoral pain. The patients were matched by age, sex, type of lesion (whether it was profession related) and whether the lesion was left or right sided. Measurements were carried out by radiography and MRI. The following positions of angles were measured: the angle of ACL in sagittal and frontal plane, the angle of the inner side of lateral condyle in frontal and horizontal plane and the angle between the course of ACL and the inner side of lateral condyle. In our study there is a significant difference (P < 0.05) in the degree of the ACL angles in the frontal plane between the examined group (74.5°) and the control group (70.6°). Also, there was a significant difference (P < 0.05) in the degree of the ACL angle in the sagittal plane between the examined group (48°) and the control (50.4°). The angle between the inner side of the lateral condyle of the femur and the ACL of the examined group (32.9°) differs significantly (P < 0.01) from the same angle of the control group (40.6°). According to the results of our study it appears that the increment of the ACL angle in the frontal plane, the decrement of the ACL angle in the sagittal plane and the decrement of the angle between the ACL and the inner side of the lateral condyle in the frontal plane are associated with the rupture of the ACL.