Preactivation of the quadriceps muscle could limit cranial tibial translation in a cranial cruciate ligament deficient canine stifle

• Quadriceps muscle contraction prevents tibial subluxation in canine cranial cruciate ligament deficient stifles.
• Quadriceps muscle eliminates tibial subluxation particularly in canine limbs with low tibial plateau angle.
• Quadriceps muscle rehabilitation should be considered in dogs with cranial cruciate ligament rupture.

Cranial cruciate ligament (CrCL) deficiency is the leading cause of lameness of the canine stifle. Application of tension in the quadriceps muscle could trigger cranial tibial translation in case of CrCL rupture. We replaced the quadriceps muscle and the gastrocnemius muscle by load cells and turn-buckles. First, eight canine limbs were placed in a servo-hydraulic testing machine, which applied 50% of body weight (BW). In a second phase, the CrCL was transected, and the limbs were tested in a similar manner.In a third phase, a quadriceps pretension of 15% BW was applied and limbs were again tested in a similar manner. Cranial tibial translation was significantly decreased in CrCL deficient stifles (p < 0.05) when quadriceps pretension was applied.These findings indicate that quadriceps pretension could play a role in the stability of a CrCL deficient stifle and should then be considered in rehabilitation programs and conservative treatment of CrCL rupture in dogs.