COMPARISON OF PATELLA ALIGNMENT AND CARTILAGE BIOMARKERS IN YOUNG ADULT FEMALES WITH AND WITHOUT PATELLOFEMORAL PAIN:...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical research
• Orthopedics
• Sports medicine

Background:

• Patellofemoral pain (PFP) is linked to developing patellofemoral joint osteoarthritis (PFJOA).
• Limited data exist on the direct association between PFP and PFJOA.
• Understanding this relationship is vital for early PFP management interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if females with PFP exhibit patella positioning and cartilage biomarkers similar to PFJOA patients.
• To test the hypothesis that PFP females with excessive patella lateralization have higher cartilage biomarker levels.
• To determine the association between pain and cartilage biomarkers in PFP subjects with excessive patella lateralization.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional, observational study design.
• Pain assessed via Visual Analog Scale (VAS); patella position measured by RAB angle using ultrasound.
• Urine collected for quantifying cartilage biomarkers (uCTX-II).

Main Results:

• No significant differences in RAB angle or uCTX-II between groups.
• Significant association found between VAS scores and uCTX-II in PFP females with RAB angle > 13° (r=0.86, p=0.003).
• Females aged 25-30 with PFP and excessive lateralization showed elevated uCTX-II compared to normative data.

Conclusions:

• Findings suggest a PFP cohort exhibits PFJOA features like patella lateralization and elevated biomarkers.
• Further research is needed to confirm if interventions can reduce both pain and biomarker levels.
• Highlights the potential for early osteoarthritis development in specific PFP populations.