A Longitudinal Study of Trabecular Bone in Knees with Acute Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Injuries at 3T

Jin Zuo¹, Jenny Folkesson¹, Xiaojuan Li¹, Samuel Paran Yap¹, Sharmila Majumdar¹

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear is one of the most common ligament injuries of the knee joint, and is a risk factor for post-traumatic osteoarthritis (OA). Little is known about the changes in the underlying trabecular bone following injury. Previous studies have indicated that the volumetric mineral density decreases due to incomplete mineralization of trabecular bone structure in early stages of OA. The aims of this study are to compare bone structure parameters in knees following ACL tears to those of the contralateral, uninjured control knee, and to evaluate these parameter changes at one year follow-up using magnetic resonance imaging.