Injuries to the articular cartilage in the knee are common in jumping athletes, particularly high-level basketball players. Unfortunately, these are often diagnosed at a late stage of the disease process, after tissue loss has already occurred.
To evaluate longitudinal changes in knee articular cartilage and knee function in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball players and their evolution over the competitive season and off-season.
Longitudinal, multisite cohort study.
Thirty-two NCAA Division 1 athletes: 22 basketball players and 10 swimmers.
Bilateral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using a combined T
We calculated T
One-way variance model hypothesis test, general linear model, and chi-squared test.
In the femoral articular cartilage of all athletes, we saw a global decrease in T
2 Technical Efficacy Stage: 2.
Our results indicate that T