Clinical orthopaedics and related research
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Clin. Orthop. Relat. Res. · Dec 2003
In vivo assessment of patellofemoral joint contact area in individuals who are pain free.
Magnetic resonance imaging was used to quantify in vivo patellofemoral joint contact area and to determine if contact area is affected by quadriceps muscle contraction. Ten subjects without pain (six women, four men) had their right patellofemoral joint imaged. Cartilage-enhanced, axial plane images were obtained at 0 degrees, 20 degrees, 40 degrees, and 60 degrees knee flexion under quadriceps loaded (contracted) and quadriceps unloaded (relaxed) conditions. ⋯ The lateral facet comprised a greater percentage of total contact area compared with the medial facet at each knee flexion angle, suggesting increased load-bearing potential. Quadriceps contraction did not affect patellofemoral joint contact area indicating that the addition of a compressive load to the joint did not alter the area of the load-bearing surfaces. In vivo assessment of patellofemoral joint contact area could provide insight into mechanisms of patellofemoral joint disorders.