Knee proprioception in individuals submitted to partial menistectomy and meniscal repair: observational study

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Menisci play a fundamental role in the joint, in addition to generating joint stability and congruence, they influence knee proprioception. Lesions in this structure can often only be repaired surgically, due to the weak local blood supply, leading to unsatisfactory regeneration. The hypothesis of this study is that there may be less proprioceptive deficits in patients undergoing meniscal suture when compared to those undergoing partial menistectomy. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the proprioceptive deficit of the knee in patients undergoing partial menistectomy and meniscal suture. METHODS: Cross-sectional observational study carried out at the UNISA orthopedics and rheumatology clinic in São Paulo. Participants were divided into two groups. In Group I, individuals who underwent partial menistectomy, while in Group II, who underwent meniscal suture, individuals were recruited up to 4 weeks after surgery. Approved by the ethics committee followed by CAAE 94144218.0.0000.0081. For data collection, three tests were performed: test of active and passive sense positioning and kinesthesia test. RESULTS: Four individuals participated in Group I and four individuals in Group II, of both genders, between 20 and 40 years old. The results indicate that the patients who underwent partial menistectomy and meniscal suture showed proprioceptive differences between the operated and the non-operated limbs, however the subjects who had the preserved structure presented smaller values of difference in comparison with the operated members of the two groups (Active Test: 30 ° = Group I 11.6 ° ± 5.0 vs Group II 6.9 ° ± 2.8, p = 0.010; 45 ° = Group I 9.4 ° ± 3.5 vs Group II 6.5 ° ± 2.8, p = 0.035; 60 ° = Group I 9.7 ° ± 4.3 vs Group II 6.5 ° ± 4.9, p = 0.103; Kinesthesia Test: Group I 132ms ± 51.5 vs Group II 96ms ± 28.8, p = 0.046). CONCLUSION: Higher proprioceptive deficits were found in subjects undergoing menistectomy compared to the sutured limb group, with a statistically significant difference.