Magnetic Resonance Imaging Features of Early Knee Cartilage Injury in Athletes and Its Significance in Diagnosis

Objective: The objective is to study the application and significance of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the diagnosis of early knee joint cartilage injury in athletes, so as to provide corresponding rehabilitation training. Method: The imaging manifestations of T2 mapping of patellar cartilage in athletes and healthy volunteers are studied. 32 national professional athletes are included. The imaging characteristics of T2 mapping pseudocolor images of normal patellar cartilage are analyzed. The image characteristics of early patellar cartilage injury in T2 mapping pseudocolor images are analyzed, and the comparison of cartilage injury between athletes and ordinary people, as well as the injury of left and right knee cartilage of athletes are obtained. Results: The average value of T2 (T2av) of right patellar cartilage of athletes is higher than that of left patellar cartilage, and there are significant differences. The average T2av of right patellar cartilage is slightly higher than that of left patellar cartilage in healthy volunteers, with no significant differences. With the increase of training years, the color scale of patellar cartilage gradually increases, from the surface to the deep layer. In addition, the damage is aggravated, the blue range is reduced, the green range is expanded, and some yellow areas appear, which are more mixed. The lateral area and deviation to lateral area of right patellar cartilage are more obvious, and the T2 value is increased. Conclusion: T2 mapping can reflect the early injury of articular cartilage sensitively, intuitively and quantitatively. Before the morphological changes, the changes of biochemical structure of degenerative articular cartilage can be found by T2 mapping, which can provide theoretical support for the detection of early injury of knee cartilage in athletes.