Longitudinal change in femorotibial cartilage thickness and subchondral bone plate area in male and female adolescent vs. mature athletes.
Little is known about changes in human cartilage thickness and subchondral bone plate area (tAB) during growth. The objective of this study was to explore longitudinal change in femorotibial cartilage thickness and tAB in adolescent athletes, and to compare these data with those of mature former athletes. Twenty young (baseline age 16.0 ± 0.6 years) and 20 mature (46.3 ± 4.7 years) volleyball athletes were studied (10 men and 10 women in each group). Magnetic resonance images were acquired at baseline and at year 2-follow-up, and longitudinal changes in cartilage thickness and tAB were determined quantitatively after segmentation. The yearly increase in total femorotibial cartilage thickness was 0.8% (95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.5; 2.1%) in young men and 1.4% (95% CI: 0.7; 2.2%) in young women; the gain in tAB was 0.4% (95% CI: -0.1; 0.8%) and 0.7% (95% CI: 0.2; 1.2%), respectively (no significant difference between sexes). The cartilage thickness increase was greatest in the medial femur, and was not significantly associated with the variability in tAB growth (r=-0.19). Mature athletes showed smaller gains in tAB, and lost >1% of femorotibial cartilage per annum, with the greatest loss observed in the lateral tibia. In conclusion, we find an increase in cartilage thickness (and some in tAB) in young athletes toward the end of adolescence. This increase appeared somewhat greater in women than men, but the differences between both sexes did not reach statistical significance. Mature (former) athletes displayed high rates of (lateral) femorotibial cartilage loss, potentially due to a high prevalence of knee injuries.
Institute of Anatomy, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria. Electronic address: felix.eckstein@pmu.ac.at.
Felix
F
Eckstein
Julius Wolff Institute, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Center for Sports Science and Sports Medicine Berlin, Germany.
Heide
H
Boeth
Department of Radiology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany.
Gerd
G
Diederichs
Institute of Anatomy, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.
Wolfgang
W
Wirth
Institute of Anatomy, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.
Martin
M
Hudelmaier
Institute of Anatomy, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.
Sebastian
S
Cotofana
Mat Search Consulting Hofmann, Pully, Switzerland.
Margarethe
M
Hofmann-Amtenbrink
Julius Wolff Institute, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Center for Sports Science and Sports Medicine Berlin, Germany.
Georg
G
Duda
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D056352:Athletes; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000473:pathology; D001846:Bone Development; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000293:injuries; D005260:Female; D005269:Femur / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000254:growth & development*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006132:Growth Plate / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000254:growth & development*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000072042:Salter-Harris Fractures; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013977:Tibia / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000254:growth & development*; D054798:Volleyball / Q000293:injuries
Adolescence; Athletes; Cartilage; Development; Knee; Subchondral bone; Thickness