Assessment of Increased Quadriceps Angle as a Risk Factor for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury results in chronic knee instability and early development of knee osteoarthritis. Increased Q angle has been postulated as a risk factor for ACL injury. Individuals at risk of sustaining ACL injuries would benefit from participating in injury prevention programmes. AIM: To compare the mean value of the Q angle in adult participants with and without ACL injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a hospital-based case-control study comprised of 56 patients divided into two matched groups. Q angle was measured in both knees, following the same surface goniometry measurement protocol. An independent sample t-test was used to compare the means of the measured Q angle between cases and controls. RESULTS: The difference in the measured Q angle between the ACL-injured group and the non-ACL-injured group was found to be statistically significant, with those in the ACL-injured group having higher values in standing and supine positions (12.73 ± 1.5° vs. 11.40 ± 1.5° and 12.32 ± 1.2° vs. 11.07 ± 1.4°) with a P value of <0.001. CONCLUSION: Individuals with ACL injury in our population of Black patients have a significantly greater Q angle than those without ACL injury when measured in the standing and supine positions using surface goniometry.