ACL Injury Clinical Examination [Evidence Based Review]

By dpope2020

January 3, 2025

ACL, acl reconstruction, acl recovery, acl rehab, anterior cruciate ligament, cartilage injury, dan pope, differentiate ACL tears, fitness pain free, grading acl injuries, inner knee pain, joint line tenderness, knee effusion, knee flexion, knee pain, knee swelling, knee trauma, lachman test, lever test, lever test for knee, medical education, partial acl tear, physical therapy, pivot shift, pivot shift test, pivot shift test knee, posterior sag sign, sports injuries

ACL Injury Clinical Examination [Evidence Based Review]

To go along with today's video I have a nice infographic to share...

Sign up to receive FREE: ACL-Reconstruction Exercise Evidence Based "Cheat Sheet"

Click HERE to Download FREE

Grab the rest of the Mini Course and Sign up for the Certification Pre-sale list:

In today's video we go over: ACL Injury Clinical Examination [Evidence Based Review]: FPF Show Episode 156

  • 0:00 Introduction
  • 1:42 What should your subjective examination contain for ACL clinical exam? [Injury mechanism, pain, swelling, history of a "pop"]
  • 5:10 What should the objective examination contain when diagnosing ACL injuries? [Gait, ROM, strength, swelling, special tests]
  • 16:26 What are the most common and best special tests for diagnosing ACL injuries?
  • 23:27 Which test is the BEST overall? [SENSITIVE and SPECIFIC]
  • 24:31 Is the lever test worth using in your examination?
  • 28:59 If we cluster tests together does that enhance test accuracy?
  • 30:04 If we combine subjective information with objective tests does that improve diagnostic accuracy?
  • 35:56 What to do if you suspect your patient has an ACL injury

Definitely an ACL, definitely...

- Dan Pope DPT,OCS,CSCS

Show Notes / Relevant Articles:

Want to support me and decide topics for future episodes?  Click HERE to sign up for FPF "Insiders" for just a dollar. You'll gain access to 100+ webinars, e-books and complete guides.  Plus, you'll get private access to the "Insiders" Facebook group where you can have all of your questions answered by me.  

Looking for other ways to support me that are 100% free?

  • Like, comment and share on youtube, facebook and instagram 
  • Leave a 5-star review on apple podcasts

Thank you!

Dan Pope DPT, OCS, CSCS

References: 

  1. Evans J, Mabrouk A, Nielson JL. Anterior Cruciate Ligament Knee Injury. 2023 Nov 17. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan–. PMID: 29763023.

  2. Benjaminse A, Gokeler A, van der Schans CP. Clinical diagnosis of an anterior cruciate ligament rupture: a meta-analysis. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2006 May;36(5):267-88. doi: 10.2519/jospt.2006.2011. PMID: 16715828.

  3. Kulwin RL, Schmidt GJ, Snyder DA, Klitzman RG. Clinical Examination in the Diagnosis of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury: A Blinded, Cross-sectional Evaluation. J Am Acad Orthop Surg Glob Res Rev. 2023 Feb 8;7(2):e22.00123. doi: 10.5435/JAAOSGlobal-D-22-00123. PMID: 36758231; PMCID: PMC9915950.

  4. Décary S, Fallaha M, Belzile S, Martel-Pelletier J, Pelletier JP, Feldman D, Sylvestre MP, Vendittoli PA, Desmeules F. Clinical diagnosis of partial or complete anterior cruciate ligament tears using patients' history elements and physical examination tests. PLoS One. 2018 Jun 12;13(6):e0198797. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0198797. PMID: 29894492; PMCID: PMC5997333.

Images:

  1. File source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/ACL_Tear.png attribution: BruceBlaus, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons Edited by fitness pain free LLC
  2. File source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/ACLI_18.jpg Attribution: BruceBlaus, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons Edited by Fitness Pain Free LLC