Thermographic diagnosis in athletes with patellofemoral arthralgia
- Resource Type
- Authors
- Brian L. Hazleman; Devereaux; G R Parr; D P Thomas; SM Lachmann
- Source
- The Journal of bone and joint surgery. British volume. 68(1)
- Subject
- musculoskeletal diseases
Adult
Male
medicine.medical_specialty
Adolescent
Knee Joint
Vastus medialis
Pain
Osteoarthritis
Knee Injuries
Age and sex
Arthritis, Rheumatoid
medicine
Humans
Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
Child
biology
business.industry
Athletes
Medial side
Middle Aged
musculoskeletal system
medicine.disease
biology.organism_classification
Exercise Therapy
Thermography
Rheumatoid arthritis
Athletic Injuries
Physical therapy
Etiology
Surgery
Patella
Female
business
human activities
- Language
- ISSN
- 0301-620X
Pain in front of the knee is common in athletes and is often called patellofemoral arthralgia, but it is difficult to prove that the pain arises in that joint. Thermograms of 30 athletes clinically considered to have patellofemoral arthralgia were compared with those of a similar number of unaffected athletes matched for age and sex. A comparison was also made with thermograms of two older groups of 30 patients with knee involvement from either rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis. Twenty-eight of the athletes with patellofemoral arthralgia had a diagnostic pattern on thermography. The anterior knee view showed a rise in temperature on the medial side of the patella and the medialis knee view showed that this temperature rise radiated from the patellar insertion of the vastus medialis into the muscle itself. The possible aetiological role of quadriceps muscle imbalance in athletes with patellofemoral arthralgia is discussed in relation to these findings.