Abstract
The aim was to compare anterior knee pain (AKP) felt before, and after hamstrings (HS, n = 65) and bone-patellar tendon- bone [B-PT-B, n = 94] ACL reconstructions.
The same questionnaire (modified from Shelbourne et al 1997) was answered by patients before, and at least 12 months after surgery. Questions covered five main categories of pain ie. during prolonged sitting, stair climbing, kneeling, sport or vigorous activity, and ADL.
There was no statistical difference in the two groups in overall AKP scores before surgery. After surgery, there were improvements in this overall score in both groups, but the improvement was statistically greater in the HS group (p = 0.02). Analysis of the five different pain categories showed no significant difference in the improvements in sitting, sport or ADL. In both climbing stairs (p = 0.009), and kneeling (p = 0.02) there were significantly greater improvements in the HS group.
The majority of patients had AKP before surgery. Surgery improved pain levels in both HS and B-PT-B groups, but there was statistically significant greater improvements in overall AKP scores, and the scores for climbing stairs and kneeling in the HS group.
The abstracts were prepared by Editorial Secretary Jean-Claude Theis. Correspondence should be addressed to NZOA at Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Dunedin Hospital, Private Bag 1921, Dunedin, New Zealand.
