MEDIAL MENISCUS EXTRUSION (MME) IS A RISK FACTOR FOR PROGRESSION OF EARLY-STAGE KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS IN MIDDLE-AGED POPULATIONS WITHOUT KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS -THE DATA FROMOSTEOARTHRITIS INITIATIVE

Abstract

Purpose: Osteoarthritis of the knee (knee OA) is a major cause of morbidity and disability as well as a burden on health-care resources, especially for the elderly. Knee OA is a slowly but progressive joint disease and is most common form of joint dysfunction and knee pain.The onset of knee OA is defined as having a Kellgren-Lawrence (K/L) classification grade 2 or higher, which is a severity classification of plain radiography. In recent years, attention has been focused on the pre-symptomatic pathology of early-stage knee OA.