Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Schneider, Dirk
• Weber, Regine
• Nourkami‐Tutdibi, Nasenien
• Bous, Michelle
• Goedicke‐Fritz, Sybelle
• Hans, Muriel Charlotte
• Hein, Steve
• Wolf, Milan Anton
• Landgraeber, Stefan
• Zemlin, Michael
• Kaiser, Elisabeth

Titel

Ultrasound‐guided determination demonstrates influence of age, sex and type of sport on medial femoral condyle cartilage thickness in children and adolescents

Ist Teil von

• Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA, 2024-06, Vol.32 (6), p.1423-1433

Ort / Verlag

Germany

Erscheinungsjahr

2024

Quelle

Wiley Online Library Journals Frontfile Complete

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Purpose To analyse the reliability of ultrasound‐guided measurement of the cartilage thickness at the medial femoral condyle in athletically active children and adolescents before and after mechanical load in relation to age, sex and type of sport. Methods Three successive measurements were performed in 157 participants (median/min–max age: 13.1/6.0–18.0 years, 106 males) before and after mechanical load by squats at the same site of the medial femoral condyle by defined transducer positioning. Test–retest reliability was examined using Cronbach's α $\alpha $ calculation. Differences in cartilage thickness were analysed with respect to age, sex and type of practiced sports, respectively. Results Excellent reliability was achieved both before and after mechanical load by 30 squats with a median cartilage thickness of 1.9 mm (range: 0.5–4.8 mm) before and 1.9 mm (0.4–4.6 mm) after mechanical load. Male cartilages were thicker (p < 0.01) before (median: 2.0 mm) and after (2.0 mm) load when compared to female cartilage (before: 1.6 mm; after: 1.7 mm). Median cartilage thickness was about three times higher in karate athletes (before: 2.3 mm; after: 2.4 mm) than in sports shooters (0.7; 0.7 mm). Cartilage thickness in track and field athletes, handball players and soccer players were found to lay in‐between. Sport type related thickness changes after mechanical load were not significant. Conclusion Medial femoral condyle cartilage thickness in childhood correlates with age, sex and practiced type of sports. Ultrasound is a reliable and simple, pain‐free approach to evaluate the cartilage thickness in children and adolescents. Level of Evidence Level III.