Infrapatellar Fat Pad Volume and Osteoarthritic Symptoms Following ACL Reconstruction
Undergraduates: Kyle Wallace, Matthew Harkey
Faculty Advisor: Brian Pietrosimone
Department: Exercise & Sport Science
Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is the 11th leading cause of disability worldwide. A previous knee injury increases the risk of developing knee OA; approximately one third of individuals who sustain an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, and subsequently undergo an ACL reconstruction will develop KOA within ten years. There are many possible causes leading to the development of KOA following ACL reconstruction, including damage or inflammation to the infrapatellar fat pad (IFP). The IFP is a highly innervated and vascularized structure, primarily composed of adipose tissue, located in the anterior compartment of the knee. Although exact function of the IFP has yet to be characterized, it is known to assist in the biomechanics of the lower limb and contains a store of reparative cells following a knee injury. In addition, the inflammatory response that occurs in the IFP may aid in the development of KOA. This project will use magnetic resonance imaging to visualize and measure the volume of the IFP in patients that have sustained an ACL injury and have undergone ACL reconstruction. In order to quantify patient reported knee symptoms, the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) will be used. The goal of this project is to determine the association between infrapatellar fat pad volume and patient reported outcomes 12 months following ACL reconstruction. We hypothesize that individuals with larger IFP, indicating more synovitis, will demonstrate worse KOOS.