NCT05190120

Adductor Canal Block Versus Femoral Block on Pain and Quadriceps Strength

Effects of Ultrasound-guided Adductor Canal Block Versus Femoral Nerve Block on Pain and Quadriceps Strength After Ambulatory Knee Arthroscopic Surgery

• Status: Completed
• Phase: Phase 4
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 132 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of California, San Francisco · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of a femoral nerve block vs. an adductor canal block on pain and quadriceps muscle strength for knee arthroscopy surgery.

Detailed description

Patients undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery (ACL and non-ACL surgery) typically receive an ultrasound-guided femoral nerve block or an adductor canal block in the pre-operative phase for post-operative pain control. While an effective method for post-operative analgesia, the femoral nerve block is associated with profound quadriceps weakness for the duration of the nerve block, which can impair ambulation, rehabilitation, and increase the risk of falls. The more distal adductor canal block, however, contains primarily sensory branches of the femoral nerve and has been been purported by small volunteer studies to provide equally effective analgesia with minimal motor block and quadriceps weakness (as compared to femoral nerve block). The investigators will prospectively randomize patients undergoing knee arthroscopy at the UCSF Orthopaedic Institute to receive either a single-shot femoral nerve or adductor canal block pre-operatively after taking baseline measurements of quadriceps strength (quantified by maximum voluntary isometric contraction). The quadriceps muscle strength will be checked 20 minutes after the nerve block to assess strength. All patients will subsequently undergo a general anesthetic. The primary outcome variable will be post-block quadriceps strength as a percentage of baseline from pre-block values. Secondary outcome variables that will also investigated include: VAS pain score in the post anesthesia recovery unit and post-operative day 1, duration of nerve blockade, and perioperative opioid consumption.

Conditions

• Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tear
• Knee Meniscus Tear

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
PROCEDURE	Femoral Nerve Block	Patients having ACL reconstruction, meniscus surgery and knee arthroscopy
PROCEDURE	Adductor Canal Nerve Block	Patients having ACL reconstruction, meniscus surgery and knee arthroscopy
DRUG	preoperative Femoral Nerve Block using 20ml of 0.5% ropivacaine
DRUG	Preoperative Adductor canal block with 0.75%% ropivacaine 13.3ml.

Timeline

• Start date: 2016-01-01
• Primary completion: 2022-03-20
• Completion: 2022-03-20
• First posted: 2022-01-13
• Last updated: 2025-09-30
• Results posted: 2025-09-30

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States

Regulatory

• FDA-regulated drug study