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Quantitative T2(*) assessment of knee joint cartilage after running a marathon
Tobias Hesper1, Falk R Miese2, Harish S Hosalkar3
1University Düsseldorf, Medical Faculty, Department of Orthopaedics, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Objective:
To study the effect of repetitive joint loading on the T2(*) assessment of knee joint cartilage.
Materials And Methods:
T2(*) mapping was performed in 10 non-professional marathon runners (mean age: 28.7±3.97 years) with no morphologically evident cartilage damage within 48h prior to and following the marathon and after a period of approximately four weeks. Bulk and zonal T2(*) values at the medial and lateral tibiofemoral compartment and the patellofemoral compartment were assessed by means of region of interest analysis. Pre- and post-marathon values were compared.
Results:
There was a small increase in the T2(*) after running the marathon (30.47±5.16ms versus 29.84±4.97ms, P<0.05) while the T2(*) values before the marathon and those after the period of convalescence were similar (29.84±4.97ms versus 29.81±5.17ms, P=0.855). Regional analyses revealed lower T2(*) values in the medial tibial plateau (P<0.001).
Conclusions:
It appears that repetitive joint loading has a transient influence on the T2(*) values. However, this effect is small and probably not clinically relevant. The low T2(*) values in the medial tibial plateau may be related to functional demand or early cartilage degeneration.
