The quarter back of a professional football team suffered a severe knee injury on an unsuccessful pass play. Specifically, he was fading back for a pass when his protection broke down. At the time of impact, the right foot was firmly planted on the natural turf, and his right arm was cocked to throw. One of the line backers hit the quarterback's right knee directly from the lateral side with the full force of his body while the other smashed into his right shoulder, spinning him around in a clockwise direction.
In the locker room, the player complained of pain around the medial aspect of his knee joint. The pain was exaggerated when the physician put an abduction force on the lateral side of the knee. During the examination, the physician noted a greater degree of laxity in the right knee joint than in the left. The right knee was also swollen and tests revealed a large degree of effusion in the joint cavity. The player also exhibited a positive anterior drawer sign. In this test, the physician placed her thumb and index finger of each hand on the epicondyles of the femur and tibia of the patient's flexed knee. The physician noticed that while she held the femur with one hand, she could pull the tibia noticeably forward with the other hand. The player was scheduled for surgery and was out of action for the remainder of the season.
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