Demonstration of Rotatory Instability in Injured Knees by Stress Radiography

Abstract

Rotatory instability of injured knees may be demonstrated by stress radiography by recording the different movements of the medial and lateral tibial condyle at pull or push with the knee in 90 degrees flexion. The displacements of the condyles are expressed in millimetres, not degrees. Comparison with the healthy knee is always used. The displacement of a tibial condyle has to exceed 3.0 mm in relation to the healthy knee to be defined as pathological. If the movements of both condyles exceed the movements in the healthy knee by more than 3.0 mm in the same direction a drawer sign is present - if only one of them moves, an abnormal rotation is present. When a drawer sign is present there may still be a greater displacement of one of the tibial condyles which means a rotatory instability added to the drawer sign, designated a complex rotatory instability. All types of rotatory instabilities, simple and complex, are defined and discussed, in relation to the classification of Nicholas, Trickey and Slocum & Larson. Forty-one cases of abnormal rotation were demonstrated in this series by stress radiography. The direction of rotation and the type of instability are described and compared with the operative findings. The findings are in agreement with those of the above-mentioned authors and the experimental work of Warren et al.