Comprehensive Assessment of the Knee Joint Structures in Young Men and Men of the First Period of Adulthood Using Sonography

Abstract

The aim of the study was to comprehensively assess the structure of the knee joint in young men and men of the first period of adulthood with normosthenic constitution using the ultrasonography technique.Material and methods. V.V. Bunak anthropometry technique (1941), B.A. Nikityuk and V.P. Chtetsov somatotyping (1990) and clinical examination of patients were used to form study groups, 25 people each with Pignet index from 17 to 23 without chronic diseases and pathology of the knee joint. Complex ultrasound examination was performed using ultrasound scanners "Sonoline G-60", Siemens (Germany), and Aloka 5500 Pro-Sound (Japan) with a linear transducer, 10 MHz frequency, and a convex transducer, 3.5 MHz frequency, in Ortho, Carotid and Abdomen modes with the "ZOOM" function. Morphometry was carried out using reference points. The obtained data were statistically processed by methods of variation statistics with a significance level of P≤0.05.Results. There was detected a significant increase in the transverse and vertical dimensions of the condyles of the femur, and an increase in the thickness of the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments in men of the first period of adulthood compared with the young men. The articular cartilage tended to restructure, this was manifested in thinning of its hypoechoic component and thickening of the hyperechoic component; the appearance of surface defects was more pronounced on the tibia. Ultrasound examination did not reveal age-related changes in the menisci of the knee joint, patellar ligaments and collateral ligaments.Conclusion. Ultrasound examination of the knee joint in young men and men of the first period of adulthood allowed establishing age-related transformations of the condyles of the femur, cruciate ligaments and articular cartilage.