1 Before you use it
What it is
The ligament and meniscal knee measure, built to work across a range of knee conditions rather than for one. Eighteen items covering symptoms, sports activity and function.
When to reach for it
ACL, PCL, meniscal and MCL injuries — baseline, through rehabilitation, and at return-to-sport decisions.
2 Giving it
Scoring
Summed and transformed to 0–100. Higher is better — 100 means no limitation and no symptoms.
All items must be answered (with one permitted omission in the standard scoring).
What it doesn’t measure
Psychological readiness — that's ACL-RSI, and it's the one that predicts whether they actually go back.
And no strength or hop data. Limb symmetry is measured, not asked about.
Repeat it
3 Reading the score
Interpreting it
Interpret against baseline.
Less ceiling effect than KOOS in an athletic population, which is why it's the ACL and meniscus default.
Is the change real?
On placement
Degenerative meniscus tear, managed with loading. IKDC 52 at intake, 63 at 12 weeks.
Read it as 11 points up, past the 9.0-point MCID (measured in knee surgery cohorts — this patient hasn't had surgery, so state the transfer). All items answered, which is the condition for scoring it at all.
Do tell the patient the number moved and what moved it. Keep the quads and hip loading, and hold the line on the base rate you explained at session one.
Student trap. Clearing someone for sport on IKDC alone. It doesn't ask whether they trust the knee.
Official source: sportsmed.org. We don't host the form.
This is a learning tool. It does not diagnose patients and does not replace your clinical educator.
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CliniStudy is in beta. One tap is enough — it decides what gets fixed first.