Knee injuries produced by recreational sports follow a different pattern than casual injuries

Data was collected on 208 Chinese males who underwent knee arthroscopy following trauma in the period from January 1993 through December 1994. For the purpose of comparison and analysis, the patients were classified according to their sporting habits as sedentary patients, recreational athletes, or competitive athletes. There were no significant differences in age between the three groups (average age: 25.82 +/- 10.6; range: 12 to 73 years). A hemarthrosis was present in 122 patients, and an effusion in 35. The most common mechanism of injury was direct impact (105 patients), followed by a twisting injury (58 patients). The most common arthroscopic finding was an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear (partial in-37 patients and complete in 43 patients). In both sedentary and athletic patients, a hemarthrosis was significantly associated with ACL and meniscal tears (p = 0.02). When comparing the pattern of arthroscopic pathology between sports and casual injuries, a significantly greater number of ACL tears (both complete and partial) were caused during sports activity (p = 0.032). Sports injuries also resulted in a significantly greater number of meniscal injuries (p = 0.028). However, sedentary patients suffered from a greater prevalence of tibial osteochondral fractures (10%) than did those in the sports group (5%) (p = 0.04).