Purpose
Anterior knee pain is a very common clinical complaint and has many causes chronic disability and significantly affects quality of life.
Numerous traumatic and non-traumatic processes may be encountered,
many occurring relative to the anterior compartment,
including fat-pad impingement syndromes.
The purpose of our study was to evaluate the principles of diagnosis and the related causes of various variants of knee joint impingement syndromes.
Methods and Materials
MRI was performed using 1,5T MR on 212 patients aged 9 to 55 years with chronic knee pain,
articular trauma.
Our protocol includes fat-saturated PD-weighted images in three planes,
3D GRE for the evaluation of most tendon,
ligament,
and articular abnormalities.
PD-weighted MR images with fat sat may reveal fat-pad edema with mass effect (Fig.1).
Also we evaluated basic shapes of the patella based on Wiberg classification and position of the patella.
Patella position was established by Insall Salvati index ratio greater than 1.3 (Fig.2).
Results
On fat-saturated PD-weighted images in infrapatellar fat pad impingement syndrome is visualized a focal area of edema of the lateral portion of the infrapatellar fat pad due to compressing the lateral aspect of Hoffa’s fat pad by the lateral femoral condyle (Fig.3).
In anterior suprapatellar fat pad impingment syndrome identified increased signal intensity of the suprapatellar fat pad,
with a convex posterior border and mass effect over the suprapatellar joint recess (Fig.4).
In our study the most common was infrapatellar fat pad impingement syndrome in...
Conclusion
Knee MRI is a valuable imaging technique for the identification and differentiation of anterior knee pain.
Suprapatellar and infrapatellar fat pad impingement syndromes may be a cause of anterior knee pain.
MR imaging allows evaluation of typical injury and can be used to diagnose anatomic variants contributing to the development of impingement syndromes.
References
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