Effects of the Competitive Season and Off-Season on Knee Articular Cartilage in Collegiate Basketball Players Using Quantitative MRI: A Multicenter Study. Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI Rubin, E. B., Mazzoli, V. n., Black, M. S., Young, K. n., Desai, A. D., Koff, M. F., Sreedhar, A. n., Kogan, F. n., Safran, M. R., Vincentini, D. J., Knox, K. A., Yamada, T. n., McCabe, A. n., Majumdar, S. n., Potter, H. G., Gold, G. E. 2021

Abstract

Injuries to the articular cartilage in the knee are common in jumping athletes, particularly high-level basketball players. Unfortunately, these are often diagnosed at a late stage of the disease process, after tissue loss has already occurred.To evaluate longitudinal changes in knee articular cartilage and knee function in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball players and their evolution over the competitive season and off-season.Longitudinal, multisite cohort study.Thirty-two NCAA Division 1 athletes: 22 basketball players and 10 swimmers.Bilateral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using a combined T1? and T2 magnetization-prepared angle-modulated portioned k-space spoiled gradient-echo snapshots (MAPSS) sequence at 3T.We calculated T2 and T1? relaxation times to compare compositional cartilage changes between three timepoints: preseason 1, postseason 1, and preseason 2. Knee Osteoarthritis Outcome Scores (KOOS) were used to assess knee health.One-way variance model hypothesis test, general linear model, and chi-squared test.In the femoral articular cartilage of all athletes, we saw a global decrease in T2 and T1? relaxation times during the competitive season (all P

View details for DOI 10.1002/jmri.27610

View details for PubMedID 33763929