Abstract
BackgroundMeniscal horns are important structures of meniscus, and longitudinal tears of these places could significantly change the load distribution among the knee joint. Few studies concerned the stress concentrated on bones, which may induce the osteonecrosis of subchondral bone. The goal of this study was to construct a finite element (FE) model with high fidelity of the knee joint and evaluate the biomechanical changes of load distribution of components after longitudinal tears of the horns of meniscus.MethodsComputed tomography and magnetic resonance images were used to develop the FE model, and two different kinds of simulations, the vertical and the anterior load, mimicking the static stance and slight flexion simulations, were applied after longitudinal tears of the horns of meniscus.ResultsSignificantly elevated peak compressive and shear stress was observed on the menisci, cartilages, and subchondral bones, and enlarged meniscus extrusion was noticed. Between all the four types of longitudinal tears investigated in this study, longitudinal tears at the posterior horn of the medial meniscus were found to be the most significant.ConclusionsThese findings showed that longitudinal tears of the meniscal horns lead to increased magnitude and changed distribution of stress and indicated the important role of posterior horn of medial meniscus. This may contribute to the mechanism between meniscal tears and spontaneous subchondral bone osteonecrosis.
Highlights
Meniscal horns are important structures of meniscus, and longitudinal tears of these places could significantly change the load distribution among the knee joint
It is necessary to examine the effect of meniscal tear on knee biomechanics and altered load redistribution of the meniscus-teared knee
Previous studies have investigated the influence of meniscal damage on the biomechanical changes of the load redistribution in the knee joint [9, 10]
Summary
Meniscal horns are important structures of meniscus, and longitudinal tears of these places could significantly change the load distribution among the knee joint. The goal of this study was to construct a finite element (FE) model with high fidelity of the knee joint and evaluate the biomechanical changes of load distribution of components after longitudinal tears of the horns of meniscus. In order to attain an ideal finite element model, appropriate geometry and exact mathematical description of the bone, menisci, and ligaments are required. This can provide maximum simulations of the actual knee joint. It has been demonstrated that meniscal tears have a positive impact for the maintenance of high levels of contact stress This may improve the progression of knee OA [11]. Several clinical articles have indicated that the damage to the meniscus could even induce osteonecrosis of the subchondral bone [6, 12, 13]
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