Knee muscle strength correlates with joint cartilage T2 relaxation time in young participants with risk factors for osteoarthritis

The objective of this study is to correlate T2 relaxation time (T2RT), measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with quadriceps and hamstring strength in young participants with risk factors for knee osteoarthritis (OA). A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with participants between 20 and 40 years of age, without diagnosis of knee OA. Their T2 relaxation time was measured through MRI, and their muscle strength (MS) was measured with an isokinetic dynamometer. Seventy-one participants were recruited, with an average age of 28.3 ± 5.5 years; 39 (55 %) were females. Negative correlations were found between T2RT and quadriceps peak torque (QPT) in males in the femur r = −0.46 (p = 0.01), tibia r = −0.49 (p = 0.02), and patella r = −0.44 (p = 0.01). In women, correlations were found among the femur r = −0.43 (p = 0.01), tibia r = −0.61 (p = 0.01), and patella r = −0.32 (p = 0.05) and among hamstring peak torque (HPT), in the femur r = −0.46 (p = 0.01), hamstring total work (HTW) r = −0.42 (p = 0.03), and tibia r = −0.33 (p = 0.04). Linear regression models showed good capacity to predict T2RT through QPT in both genders. The present study shows that early changes in femoral, tibial, and patellar cartilage are significantly correlated with MS, mainly QPT, and that these early changes might be explained by MS, which could play an important role in pre-clinical phases of the disease.