"Correlating Meniscal Extrusion with Cartilage, Bone, and Ligament Lesions in Medial Meniscus Posterior Root Tears"
Abstract
Background: Injuries to the menisci are a significant source of musculoskeletal complications. To the best of our knowledge, few studies have investigated cartilage and bone lesions associated with medial meniscus posterior root (MMPR) tears. However, ligament damage may occur as a result of meniscus damage. Notably, the relationship between tears and ligament damage has only been investigated in one study thus far. Considering the importance of this issue and the limitations of the conducted studies, this study aimed to determine the relation between the severity of the gap caused by MMPR tears and extrusion of the medial meniscus along with bone, cartilage, and ligament abnormalities.
Methods: In this analytical cross-sectional study, patients with medial meniscus tears referred to the radiology department who underwent knee magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were examined. Data related to age, sex, length of meniscus tear, degree of protrusion, bone marrow edema, and abnormalities of the bone, cartilage, and ligaments were collected. Additionally, the amount of gap caused by the posterior root tear of the medial meniscus was recorded. Finally, data was analyzed by IBM SPSS version 25 statistical software.
Results: In this study, 160 patients were examined, of whom 108 (67%) were female. All patients had medial tibial plateau (MTP) and medial femoral condyle (MFC) cartilage damage. One-quarter of patients had subchondral cysts, and 53% of patients had bone marrow edema. The mean extrusion length in these patients was 4.64 mm. The results indicated that 49% of the patients had an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, 28% had a posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injury, and 91% had a tibial collateral ligament (TCL) injury. Patients with minor tears were more likely to have low-grade MFC damage (58%), while patients with major tears were more likely to have high-grade MFC damage. Additionally, low-grade MTP injuries were more common in patients with minor tears (65%), while high-grade injuries mostly occurred in patients with major tears (58%).
Conclusion: The results indicate that the type of meniscus tear may affect the distribution and frequency of cartilage and ligament injuries. Therefore, these findings can help clinicians better diagnose and treat patients with meniscus injuries and other joint problems more effectively.
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