Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The STEP trials

A round-up of the STEP phase 3 clinical trials evaluating semaglutide for weight loss in people with overweight or obesity.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy
Published in: Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy 4/2013

01-04-2013 | Knee

The influence of the intercondylar notch dimensions on injury of the anterior cruciate ligament: a meta-analysis

Authors: Chao Zeng, Shu-guang Gao, Jie Wei, Tu-bao Yang, Ling Cheng, Wei Luo, Min Tu, Qiang Xie, Zheng Hu, Peng-fei Liu, Hui Li, Tuo Yang, Bin Zhou, Guang-hua Lei

Published in: Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy | Issue 4/2013

Login to get access

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this meta-analysis was to examine the effect of the intercondylar notch dimensions, intercondylar notch width index (NWI) and intercondylar notch width (NW), separately in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

Methods

The PubMed and Wanfang database were searched through until 1 November 2011 to identify studies that met pre-stated inclusion criteria. Reference lists of retrieved articles were also reviewed. Two authors independently extracted information on the designs of the studies, the characteristics of the study participants, exposure and outcome assessments and control for potential confounding factors. Either a fixed- or a random-effects model was used to calculate the overall weighted mean difference (WMD).

Results

Sixteen studies (n = 4,291) were included (1,222 subjects in ACL-injured group and 3,069 subjects in the control group). Statistically significant differences were observed in the NWI (WMD, −0.02; 95 % confidence interval, −0.04 to −0.01), and in the NW (WMD, −2.15; 95 % confidence interval, −3.09 to −1.21) among the ACL-injured group when compared to the control group.

Conclusion

The meta-analysis findings concluded that narrow intercondylar notch dimensions were associated with the risk of ACL injury. A lower NWI or NW stenosis predisposes an individual to ACL injury. Further original studies should include more anatomical risk factors that could be associated with the risk of ACL injury.

Level of evidence

III.
Literature
1.
Agel J, Arendt EA, Bershadsky B (2005) Anterior cruciate ligament injury in national collegiate athletic association basketball and soccer: a 13-year review. Am J Sports Med 33:524–530PubMedCrossRef
2.
Al-Saeed O, Brown M, Athyal R, Sheikh M (2012) Association of femoral intercondylar notch morphology, width index and the risk of anterior cruciate ligament injury. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. doi:10.​1007/​s00167-012-2038-y PubMed
3.
Begg CB, Mazumdar M (1994) Operating characteristics of a rank correlation test for publication bias. Biometrics 50:1088–1101PubMedCrossRef
4.
Besier TF, Lloyd DG, Cochrane JL, Ackland TR (2001) External loading of the knee joint during running and cutting maneuvers. Med Sci Sports Exerc 33:1168–1175PubMed
5.
Bjordal JM, Arnly F, Hannestad B, Strand T (1997) Epidemiology of anterior cruciate ligament injuries in soccer. Am J Sports Med 25:341–345PubMedCrossRef
6.
Boden BP, Dean GS, Feagin JA Jr, Garrett WE Jr (2000) Mechanisms of anterior cruciate ligament injury. Orthopedics 23:573–578PubMed
7.
Chaudhari AM, Hearn BK, Andriacchi TP (2005) Sport-dependent variations in arm position during single-limb landing influence knee loading: implications for anterior cruciate ligament injury. Am J Sports Med 33:824–830PubMedCrossRef
8.
Chaudhari AM, Zelman EA, Flanigan DC, Kaeding CC, Nagaraja HN (2009) Anterior cruciate ligament-injured subjects have smaller anterior cruciate ligaments than matched controls: a magnetic resonance imaging study. Am J Sports Med 37:1282–1287PubMedCrossRef
9.
Cimino F, Volk BS, Setter D (2010) Anterior cruciate ligament injury: diagnosis, management, and prevention. Am Fam Physician 82:917–922PubMed
10.
Daniel DM, Stone ML, Dobson BE, Fithian DC, Rossman DJ, Kaufman KR (1994) Fate of the ACL-injured patient: a prospective outcome study. Am J Sports Med 22:632–644PubMedCrossRef
11.
12.
Dienst M, Schneider G, Altmeyer K, Voelkering K, Georg T, Kramann B, Kohn D (2007) Correlation of intercondylar notch cross sections to the ACL size: a high resolution MR tomographic in vivo analysis. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg 127:253–260PubMedCrossRef
13.
Domzalski M, Grzelak P, Gabos P (2010) Risk factors for anterior cruciate ligament injury in skeletally immature patients: analysis of intercondylar notch width using magnetic resonance imaging. Int Orthop 34:703–707PubMedCrossRef
14.
Everhart JS, Flanigan DC, Simon RA, Chaudhari AM (2010) Association of noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injury with presence and thickness of a bony ridge on the anteromedial aspect of the femoral intercondylar notch. Am J Sports Med 38:1667–1673PubMedCrossRef
15.
Fleming BC, Renstrom PA, Beynnon BD, Engstrom B, Paura GD, Badger GJ, Johnson RJ (2001) The effect of weightbearing and external loading on anterior cruciate ligament strain. J Biomech 34:163–170PubMedCrossRef
16.
Griffin LY, Agel J, Albohm MJ, Arendt EA, Dick RW, Garrett WE, Garrick JG, Hewett TE, Huston L, Ireland ML, Johnson RJ, Kibler WB, Lephart S, Lewis JL, Lindenfeld TN, Mandelbaum BR, Marchak P, Teitz CC, Wojtys EM (2000) Noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injuries: risk factors and prevention strategies. J Am Acad Orthop Surg 8:141–150PubMed
17.
Griffin LY, Albohm MJ, Arendt EA, Bahr R, Beynnon BD, Demaio M, Dick RW, Engebretsen L, Garrett WE Jr, Hewett TE, Huston LJ, Ireland ML, Johoson RJ, Lephart S, Mandelbaum BR, Mann BJ, Marks PH, Marshall SW, Myklebust G, Noyes FR, Powers C, Shields C Jr, Shultz SJ, Silvers H, Slauterbeck J, Taylor DC, Teitz CC, Wojtys EM, Yu B (2006) Understanding and preventing noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injuries: a review of the Hunt Valley II meeting. Am J Sports Med 34:1512–1523PubMedCrossRef
18.
Hernigou P, Garabedian JM (2002) Intercondylar notch width and the risk for anterior cruciate ligament rupture in the osteoarthritic knee: evaluation by plain radiography and CT scan. Knee 9:313–316PubMedCrossRef
19.
Herzog RJ, Silliman JF, Hutton K, Rodkey WG, Steadman JR (1994) Measurements of the intercondylar notch by plain film radiography and magnetic resonance imaging. Am J Sports Med 22:204–210PubMedCrossRef
20.
Hewett TE, Myer GD, Ford KR (2006) Anterior cruciate ligament injuries in female athletes: part 1, mechanisms and risk factors. Am J Sports Med 34:299–311PubMedCrossRef
21.
Higgins JP, Thompson SG, Deeks JJ, Altman DG (2003) Measuring inconsistency in meta-analyses. BMJ 327:557–560PubMedCrossRef
22.
Hoteya K, Kato Y, Motojima S, Ingham SJ, Horaguchi T, Saito A, Tokuhashi Y (2011) Association between intercondylar notch narrowing and bilateral anterior cruciate ligament injuries in athletes. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg 131:371–376PubMedCrossRef
23.
Ireland ML, Ballantyne BT, Little K, McClay IS (2001) A radiographic analysis of the relationship between the size and shape of the intercondylar notch and anterior cruciate ligament injury. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 9:200–205PubMedCrossRef
24.
LaPrade RF, Burnett QM II (1994) Femoral intercondylar notch stenosis and correlation to anterior cruciate ligament injuries. A prospective study. Am J Sports Med 22:198–202PubMedCrossRef
25.
Lombardo S, Sethi PM, Starkey C (2005) Intercondylar notch stenosis is not a risk factor for anterior cruciate ligament tears in professional male basketball players: an 11-year prospective study. Am J Sports Med 33:29–34PubMedCrossRef
26.
Lund-Hanssen H, Gannon J, Engebretsen L, Holen KJ, Anda S, Vatten L (1994) Intercondylar notch width and the risk for anterior cruciate ligament rupture. A case–control study in 46 female handball players. Acta Orthop Scand 65:529–532PubMedCrossRef
27.
Motohashi M (2004) Profile of bilateral anterior cruciate ligament injuries: a retrospective follow-up study. J Orthop Surg (Hong Kong) 12:210–215
28.
Olsen OE, Myklebust G, Engebretsen L, Bahr R (2004) Injury mechanisms for anterior cruciate ligament injuries in team handball: a systematic video analysis. Am J Sports Med 32:1002–1012PubMedCrossRef
29.
Ostenberg A, Roos H (2000) Injury risk factors in female European football: a prospective study of 123 players during one season. Scand J Med Sci Sports 10:279–285PubMedCrossRef
30.
Palmer I (2007) On the injuries to the ligaments of the knee joint: a clinical study. 1938. Clin Orthop Relat Res 454:17–22PubMedCrossRef
31.
Schickendantz MS, Weiker GG (1993) The predictive value of radiographs in the evaluation of unilateral and bilateral anterior cruciate ligament injuries. Am J Sports Med 21:110–113PubMedCrossRef
32.
Shambaugh JP, Klein A, Herbert JH (1991) Structural measures as predictors of injury basketball players. Med Sci Sports Exerc 23:522–527PubMed
33.
Shelbourne KD, Facibene WA, Hunt JJ (1997) Radiographic and intraoperative intercondylar notch width measurements in men and women with unilateral and bilateral anterior cruciate ligament tears. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 5:229–233PubMedCrossRef
34.
Shultz SJ, Schmitz RJ, Nguyen AD (2008) Research retreat IV: ACL injuries: the gender bias: April 3–5, 2008 Greensboro, NC. J Athl Train 43:530–531PubMedCrossRef
35.
Simon RA, Everhart JS, Nagaraja HN, Chaudhari AM (2010) A case–control study of anterior cruciate ligament volume, tibial plateau slopes and intercondylar notch dimensions in ACL-injured knees. J Biomech 43:1702–1707PubMedCrossRef
36.
Sonnery-Cottet B, Archbold P, Cucurulo T, Fayard JM, Bortolletto J, Thaunat M, Prost T, Chambat P (2011) The influence of the tibial slope and the size of the intercondylar notch on rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament. J Bone Joint Surg Br 93:1475–1478PubMedCrossRef
37.
Souryal TO, Freeman TR (1993) Intercondylar notch size and anterior cruciate ligament injuries in athletes. A prospective study. Am J Sports Med 21:535–539PubMedCrossRef
38.
Souryal TO, Moore HA, Evans JP (1988) Bilaterality in anterior cruciate ligament injuries: associated intercondylar notch stenosis. Am J Sports Med 16:449–454PubMedCrossRef
39.
Stijak L, Herzog RF, Schai P (2008) Is there an influence of the tibial slope of the lateral condyle on the ACL lesion? Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 16:112–117PubMedCrossRef
40.
Stein V, Li L, Guermazi A, Zhang Y, Kent Kwoh C, Eaton CB, Hunter DJ, OAI Investigators (2010) The relation of femoral notch stenosis to ACL tears in persons with knee osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 18:192–199PubMedCrossRef
41.
Stroup DF, Berlin JA, Morton SC, Olkin I, Williamson GD, Rennie D, Moher D, Becker BJ, Sipe TA, Thacker SB (2000) Meta-analysis of observational studies in epidemiology: a proposal for reporting. Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) group. JAMA 283:2008–2012PubMedCrossRef
42.
Swärd P, Kostogiannis I, Roos H (2010) Risk factors for a contralateral anterior cruciate ligament injury. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 18:277–291PubMedCrossRef
43.
Teitz CC, Lind BK, Sacks BM (1997) Symmetry of the femoral notch width index. Am J Sports Med 25:687–690PubMedCrossRef
44.
Toth AP, Cordasco FA (2001) Anterior cruciate ligament injuries in the female athlete. J Gend Specif Med 4:25–34PubMed
45.
Uhorchak JM, Scoville CR, Williams GN, Arciero RA, St Pierre P, Taylor DC (2003) Risk factors associated with non-contact injury of the anterior cruciate ligament: a prospective four-year evaluation of 859 West Point cadets. Am J Sports Med 31:831–842PubMed
46.
Van Eck CF, Kopf S, van Dijk CN, Fu FH, Tashman S (2011) Comparison of 3-dimensional notch volume between subjects with and subjects without anterior cruciate ligament rupture. Arthroscopy 27:1235–1241PubMedCrossRef
47.
van Eck CF, Martins CA, Lorenz SG, Fu FH, Smolinski P (2010) Assessment of correlation between knee notch width index and the three-dimensional notch volume. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 18:1239–1244PubMedCrossRef
48.
Van Eck CF, Martins CA, Vyas SM, Celentano U, van Dijk CN, Fu FH (2010) Femoral intercondylar notch shape and dimensions in ACL-injured patients. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 18(9):1257–1262PubMedCrossRef
49.
Vyas S, van Eck CF, Vyas N, Fu FH, Otsuka NY (2011) Increased medial tibial slope in teenage pediatric population with open physes and anterior cruciate ligament injuries. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 19:372–377PubMedCrossRef
50.
51.
Wolters F, Vrooijink SH, Van Eck CF, Fu FH (2011) Dose notch size predict ACL insertion site size? Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 19(Suppl 1):S17–S21PubMedCrossRef
52.
Zelisko JA, Noble HB, Porter M (1982) A comparison of men’s and women’s professional basketball injuries. Am J Sports Med 10:297–299PubMedCrossRef
Metadata
Title
The influence of the intercondylar notch dimensions on injury of the anterior cruciate ligament: a meta-analysis
Authors
Chao Zeng
Shu-guang Gao
Jie Wei
Tu-bao Yang
Ling Cheng
Wei Luo
Min Tu
Qiang Xie
Zheng Hu
Peng-fei Liu
Hui Li
Tuo Yang
Bin Zhou
Guang-hua Lei
Publication date
01-04-2013
Publisher
Springer-Verlag
Published in
Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy / Issue 4/2013
Print ISSN: 0942-2056
Electronic ISSN: 1433-7347
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-012-2166-4

Other articles of this Issue 4/2013

Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy 4/2013 Go to the issue

Knee

Remnant volume of anterior cruciate ligament correlates preoperative patients’ status and postoperative outcome

Knee

Quantifying the pivot shift test: a systematic review

Knee

The outcomes after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in adolescents with open physes

Knee

Combined ACL reconstruction and closing-wedge HTO for varus angulated ACL-deficient knees

Knee

Migration of “bioabsorbable” screws in ACL repair. How much do we know? A systematic review

Knee

Is triaxial accelerometer reliable in the evaluation and grading of knee pivot-shift phenomenon?