The aim of the present investigation was to test the Lysholm knee scoring scale from 1985 for sensitivity and reliability. Thirty-one patients with one of four different diagnoses: anterior cruciate ligament rupture (ACL), meniscus tear (MT), patello-femoral pain syndrome (PFPS) and lateral ankle sprain (LAS) participated in the study. None of the patients were in the acute phase of injury, and none had undergone surgery. Each patient was interviewed by telephone and gave answers to the Lysholm knee scoring scale verbally, while the interviewer wrote down their replies. This was done on three different occasions, days 1, 3 and 14. The results showed that the ACL group scored the highest (81.1 of possible 100 points) and differed significantly (P < 0.01) from the other three groups. Thus, the Lysholm knee scoring scale was less sensitive for the ACL patients, for whom it was originally designed, than for the other three diagnostic categories. The reliability was highest between the two first testing times, day 1 and 3 (r = 0.75, P < 0.0001).