Presumed prepatellar fibrosis in collegiate wrestlers: imaging findings and clinical correlation

Abstract

Knee pain and injury are common complaints of athletes presenting to the orthopedic clinic. Wrestlers are no exception, and may present more commonly with anterior knee pain because of the nature of their sport. Morel–Lavallée lesions and prepatellar bursitis have been described in the prepatellar region of wrestlers. We report a distinctly different prepatellar finding on MRI, focally prominent and discrete fibrosis in three collegiate wrestlers. This characteristic appearance and clinical setting have already been repeated in our clinical practice; thus, other MRI readers are also likely to encounter this finding, which in our experience can be considered a "don’t touch" lesion of no clinical significance.