Objective: To evaluate whether a knee flexion contracture (FC) was associated with localized tibial articular cartilage loss over a 1-year period using Osteoarthritis Initiative quantitative data.
Methods: Five hundred seventy-eight participants from a previously established nested case-control study of people with radiographic knee OA with or without progression, based on radiographs and symptoms, had their knee range of extension measured at baseline and received magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at baseline and 1 year. The tibial articular cartilage of the medial and lateral condyles was segmented into anterior, center, and posterior regions. We tested for associations between knee FC (defined as lack of extension to 0°), and localized changes in tibial articular cartilage thickness or percent of denuded bone (0 mm thickness) after 1 year relative to baseline using ANOVA, controlling for baseline MRI outcomes and clinical factors.
Results: Knee FC was associated with denuded bone in the medial condyle center (β 0.44, 95% CI 0.02-0.86) and preserved cartilage thickness in the medial condyle posterior (β 0.01, 95% CI 0.002-0.03) regions.
Conclusion: Knee FC unloading the tibial center region and loading the posterior region was associated with localized articular cartilage loss centrally and preserved articular cartilage posteriorly. These findings are consistent with knee FC negatively affecting unloaded tibial articular cartilage.
Keywords: cartilage; knee joint; magnetic resonance imaging; osteoarthritis; range of motion.
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