European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Background: The knee joint is a hinge joint and is considered as the most
commonly injured joint in the body as it may be less stable than other joints of
ball and socket pattern. This study aims to evaluate the role of magnetic
resonance imaging in diagnosing different diseases that cause pain in the front of
the knee. Patients and methods: This study included 48 patients (26 males and 22
females) with history of anterior knee pain. Their ages ranged from 12 to 60 years.
All Patients were subjected to MRI Protocol for Knee Examination Results: Among
48 patients who performed both X-ray and MRI examinations, 42 patients (87.5%)
had additional MRI findings. Among 27 patients with normal X-ray findings, 20
(74%) of patients had osseous findings (patellar tilt, patellofemoral instability, or
trochlear dysplasia) associated with a soft tissue finding or an isolated soft tissue
findings (chondromalacia patella, ganglion cyst, retinaculum injury, or plica) only
detectable by MRI. The remaining 26% (7 patients) only had osseous findings.
Conclusion: MRI is fast, safe and non-invasive imaging technique which has been
proven to be the modality of choice for establishing an accurate diagnosis of
different knee pathologies that cause anterior knee pain in different age groups. It
also allows to know the extent, severity, grades and types of the lesions, what will be
necessary to decide appropriate treatment.