Purpose. The study aims to detect regions at risk for (pre-)osteoarthritis in the tibiofemoral joint of young professional soccer players by evaluating cartilage composition by T2 mapping in a 3 T magnetic resonance imaging setting. Methods. In this longitudinal study, 20 professional adolescent soccer players were included. Tibiofemoral cartilage was assessed by quantitative T2 mapping and T2 values were evaluated by regions of interest analysis. Statistical evaluation, using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, was performed to compare global T2 values and subregional T2 values between a baseline and a follow-up investigation 4.3 years later. Based on the average of playing time (15 years) we divided the cohort in 2 groups and differences were evaluated. Results. When comparing baseline and follow-up, our findings showed statistically significant increases of the global medial tibial and femoral T2 values. The most noticeable results of the subregional T2 analysis were statistically significant increases in the medial posterior zones (deep femoral 36.1 vs. 39.5, P = 0.001; superficial femoral 57.0 vs. 62.4, P = 0.034; deep tibial 28.3 vs. 34.1, P = 0.009; superficial tibial 43.2 vs. 55.3, P = 0.002). Conclusion. The elevation of T2 values in the medial, especially medial posterior, compartment of the knee joint indicates that these regions are at risk for early cartilage degeneration already at the time of adolescence. The findings can help individualize and optimize training concepts and to be aware of the chronic stress on these vulnerable areas. Prevention programs should be established in young players to avoid further cartilage damage.

中文翻译：

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年轻职业足球运动员膝关节的危险区域：通过 3 T MRI 中的定量 T2 映射对早期软骨退化的纵向评估。

目的。该研究旨在通过在 3 T 磁共振成像环境中通过 T2 映射评估软骨成分来检测年轻职业足球运动员胫股关节中存在（前）骨关节炎风险的区域。方法。在这项纵向研究中，包括 20 名职业青少年足球运动员。通过定量 T2 映射评估胫股软骨，并通过感兴趣区域分析评估 T2 值。使用 Wilcoxon 符号秩检验进行统计评估，以比较基线和 4.3 年后的后续调查之间的全球 T2 值和次区域 T2 值。根据平均上场时间（15 年），我们将队列分为 2 组并评估差异。结果。在比较基线和随访时，我们的研究结果显示，全球胫骨和股骨内侧 T2 值在统计学上显着增加。次区域 T2 分析最显着的结果是内侧后区有统计学意义的增加（股骨深部 36.1 对 39.5，P = 0.001；股骨浅部 57.0 对 62.4，P = 0.034；胫骨深部 28.3 对 34.1，P = 0.009；胫骨浅表 43.2 对 55.3，P = 0.002）。结论。膝关节内侧，尤其是内侧后侧 T2 值的升高表明这些区域在青春期就已经处于早期软骨退化的风险中。这些发现可以帮助个性化和优化培训概念，并了解这些脆弱区域的长期压力。应在年轻球员中建立预防计划，以避免进一步的软骨损伤。