The immediate effect of long-distance running onT₂andT₂* relaxation times of articular cartilage of the knee in young healthy adults at 3.0 T MR imaging

Abstract

Cite this article as: Behzadi C, Welsch GH, Laqmani A, Henes FO, Kaul MG, Schoen G, et al. The immediate effect of long-distance running on T 2 and T 2 * relaxation times of articular cartilage of the knee in young healthy adults at 3.0 T MR imaging. Br J Radiol 2016; 89: 20151075. FULL PAPERThe immediate effect of long-distance running on T 2 and T 2 * relaxation times of articular cartilage of the knee in young healthy adults at 3. Objective: To quantitatively assess the immediate effect of long-distance running on T 2 and T 2 * relaxation times of the articular cartilage of the knee at 3.0 T in young healthy adults. Methods: 30 healthy male adults (18-31 years) who perform sports at an amateur level underwent an initial MRI at 3.0 T with T 2 weighted [16 echo times (TEs): 9.7-154.6 ms] and T 2 * weighted (24 TEs: 4.6-53.6 ms) relaxation measurements. Thereafter, all participants performed a 45-min run. After the run, all individuals were immediately re-examined. Data sets were post-processed using dedicated software (ImageJ; National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD). 22 regions of interest were manually drawn in segmented areas of the femoral, tibial and patellar cartilage. For statistical evaluation, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients and confidence intervals were computed. Results:Mean initial values were 35.7 ms for T 2 and 25.1 ms for T 2 *. After the run, a significant decrease in the mean T 2 and T 2 * relaxation times was observed for all segments in all participants. A mean decrease of relaxation time was observed for T 2 with 4.6 ms (63.6 ms) and for T 2 * with 3.6ms (65.1 ms) after running. Conclusion: A significant decrease could be observed in all cartilage segments for both biomarkers. Both quantitative techniques, T 2 and T 2 *, seem to be valuable parameters in the evaluation of immediate changes in the cartilage ultrastructure after running. Advances in knowledge: This is the first direct comparison of immediate changes in T 2 and T 2 * relaxation times after running in healthy adults.

Femoropatellar Joint Reaction Detected During a 4486 KM Ultramarathon with Mobile MRI

“…That the cartilage of the FPJ reacts initially to a short endurance running burden (30min, 5-10 km run), as well as the FTJ, with a T2( * )-(and T1rho-) decrease, which occurs within a short time (1-2 h) of recovery, could be proven in several studies [26,28,30,70]. However, this response, which is based on a physiological increase in collagen fiber anisotropy and concomitant pressing out of free water from cartilage [31,33,78], could not be detected by our MSUM study and also not in other marathon studies, in which MRI was performed only after several UM stages in a row or 1-2 days after the marathon race, respectively.…”

“…Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) -a reliable in vivo method for noninvasive morphological and qualitative assessment of knee cartilage [16][17][18][19][20] -specific volume and thickness (height: Ht) measurement methods with high levels of precision and reproducibility [21][22][23][24][25], as well as post-race T1rho-and T2-relaxation time mapping, have been performed to quantify structure and composition changes in hyaline cartilage on short (5 km) up to long-distance running (marathon) [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35]. Both mapping techniques are sensitive to collagen fiber content and network, and to a lesser extent to proteoglycan (PG) changes, showing a high negative correlation with their chondral concentration [36,37], with T2-measurements additionally sensitive to changes of intrachrondral free water content [38].…”

Cartilage recovery in runners with and without knee osteoarthritis: A pilot study

“…While every effort was made to commence MRI as soon as possible, T2 postA started nearly 20 min after the run. In comparison, studies that reported significant decreases in T2 commenced data collection b4 min after running [7,9]. The longer period in the current study could have allowed water to migrate back into the cartilage before measurements took place.…”

“…T2 postA ). Behzadi et al reported reductions of 12.3-13.2% immediately after a 45-minute run [7], while Subburaj et al noted decreased T2 relaxation times after 30 min of running, albeit only in the medial tibiofemoral compartment (5.4%) [6]. Gatti et al also found that 15 min of running was sufficient to reduce tibial T2 values by 6.1% [9].…”

“…Previous research has suggested that a single bout of running could measurably affect cartilage properties, as assessed using these MRI techniques [5]. For example, tibiofemoral T2 relaxation time decreased immediately following 15 to 45 min of running [6][7][8][9], while T1ρ relaxation time decreased after running for 30 min in young, healthy individuals. Together, these results suggest that water is expelled from cartilage secondary to high compression forces sustained during the stance phase of running, which can reach as much as 10.4 bodyweights [10].…”