Ultrasonographic assessment of articular cartilage of the femoral condyle in patients with an increased Q-angle.

INTRODUCTION: The patella is a sesamoid for the quadriceps, which increases its power during knee extension and thus transfers considerable forces. The etiology of patellofemoral pain is multifactorial. In the absence of injury, the commonly accepted hypothesis is associated with increased compression of articulating surfaces.

AIM: The aim of the study was to perform an ultrasound evaluation of the thickness of articular cartilage covering the medial and lateral femoral condyle in patients with an increased Q-angle.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 26 women aged between 35 and 45 years. A total of 13 patients with Q >15° were included in the study group, and 13 patients with Q ≤15° were included in the control group. A goniometer was used for Q-angle measurement. The thickness of articular cartilage covering the medial and lateral femoral condyle of the femoral bone was measured using a HONDA HS-2200 ultrasound with a linear HLS-584M transducer. The Shapiro-Wilk test was used for the assessment of data distribution normality; the distribution was normal. The differences in the measured parameters were assessed with the ANOVA test for independent samples. The Bonferroni test was used for a multiple comparison.

RESULTS: The statistical analysis showed statistically significantly reduced thickness of articular cartilage on the lateral femoral condyle ( p = 0.00) in the Q >15° group. No statistically significant differences were demonstrated for the thickness of articular cartilage on the medial femoral condyle ( p = 0.47).

CONCLUSIONS: The thickness of the articular cartilage on the lateral femoral condyle is lower than that of the medial femoral condyle in women aged between 35 and 45 years with the Q-angle >15°.