Hollis Crowder1, Valentina Mazzoli2, Marianne Black2, Lauren Watkins3, Feliks Kogan2, Brian Hargreaves4, Marc Levenston4, and Garry Gold4
1Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, United States, 2Radiology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, United States, 3Bioengineering, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, United States, 4Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, United States
To identify potential changes in cartilage hydration or microstructure
resulting from exercise we compared global and regional T2 relaxation times of
eleven female recreational runners and five controls at baseline, time 0, and
time 60 minutes post-exercise. No significant difference in mean T2 relaxation
times between the runner group and the control group were found at any time
point in either global or regional analysis. Suspected changes in cartilage
hydration or microstructure resulting from biomechanical running forces may not
manifest in such a way that is detectable by global or regional T2 relaxation
analysis compared to controls.