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The relationship between patellofemoral and tibiofemoral morphology and gait biomechanics following arthroscopic partial medial meniscectomy

  • Knee
  • Published:
Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy Aims and scope

Abstract

Purpose

To examine the relationship between tibiofemoral and patellofemoral joint articular cartilage and subchondral bone in the medial and gait biomechanics following partial medial meniscectomy.

Methods

For this cross-sectional study, 122 patients aged 30–55 years, without evidence of knee osteoarthritis at arthroscopic partial medial meniscectomy, underwent gait analysis and MRI on the operated knee once for each sub-cohort of 3 months, 2 years, or 4 years post-surgery. Cartilage volume, cartilage defects, and bone size were assessed from the MRI using validated methods. The 1st peak in the knee adduction moment, knee adduction moment impulse, 1st peak in the knee flexion moment, knee extension range of motion, and the heel strike transient from the vertical ground reaction force trace were identified from the gait data.

Results

Increased knee stance phase range of motion was associated with decreased patella cartilage volume (B = −17.9 (95 % CI −35.4, −0.4) p = 0.045) while knee adduction moment impulse was associated with increased medial tibial plateau area (B = 7.7 (95 % CI 0.9, 13.3) p = 0.025). A number of other variables approached significance.

Conclusions

Knee joint biomechanics exhibited by persons who had undergone arthroscopic partial meniscectomy gait may go some way to explaining the morphological degeneration observed at the patellofemoral and tibiofemoral compartments of the knee as patients progress from surgery.

Level of evidence

III.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, Australian Research Council, Western Australian Medical Health and Research Infrastructure Fund. We thank the following surgeons for recruitment: Mr Keith Holt, Mr Greg Witherow, Mr Greg Janes, Mr Peter Annear, Mr Hari Goonatillake, Mr Dermot Collopy, Mr David Colvin, Mr Peter Campbell, Mr Hayden Morris, Mr Andrew Shimmin, Mr Jim Keillerup, Mr Julian Feller, and Mr Adrian Trivett. We thank Dr Stephen Davis, Simone Mattfield, Iryna Bushwood, and Vi Thuy for radiology.

Conflict of interest

No authors have a conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Musculoskeletal Research, Griffith Health Institute, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, Southport, Australia

    Alasdair R. Dempsey, Peter M. Mills & David G. Lloyd

  2. School of Chiropractic and Sports Science, Murdoch University, Perth, Australia

    Alasdair R. Dempsey

  3. Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia

    Yuanyuan Wang, Fahad Hanna & Flavia M. Cicuttini

  4. Centre for Health, Exercise and Sports Medicine, Department of Physiotherapy, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

    Jonas B. Thorlund, Tim V. Wrigley, Kim L. Bennell & Ben R. Metcalf

  5. Institute of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

    Jonas B. Thorlund

  6. Baker-IDI, Melbourne, Australia

    Fahad Hanna

  7. School of Sport Science, Exercise and Health, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia

    David G. Lloyd

Authors
  1. Alasdair R. Dempsey
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  2. Yuanyuan Wang
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  3. Jonas B. Thorlund
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  4. Peter M. Mills
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  6. Kim L. Bennell
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  7. Ben R. Metcalf
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  8. Fahad Hanna
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  9. Flavia M. Cicuttini
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  10. David G. Lloyd
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to David G. Lloyd.

Additional information

A. R. Dempsey and Y. Wang are Joint First Authors.

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Dempsey, A.R., Wang, Y., Thorlund, J.B. et al. The relationship between patellofemoral and tibiofemoral morphology and gait biomechanics following arthroscopic partial medial meniscectomy. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 21, 1097–1103 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-012-2075-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-012-2075-6

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