Grozier Corey D, Genoese Francesca, Collins Katherine, Parmar Arjun, Tolzman Jessica, Kuenze Christopher, Harkey Matthew S
Department of Kinesiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.
Department of Exercise and Sport Science, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Sports Health. 2025 Mar 27:19417381251323902. doi: 10.1177/19417381251323902.
Recent research indicates a potential link between effusion-synovitis and knee pain in athletes. This study investigates the association of knee effusion-synovitis with self-reported knee pain in elite female athletes, leveraging ultrasound imaging for effusion-synovitis assessment.
Presence of knee effusion-synovitis is associated with increased self-reported knee pain in Division I female athletes.
Cross-sectional study.
Level 3.
A total of 53 NCAA Division I female athletes underwent bilateral knee ultrasound to identify effusion-synovitis. The Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Survey (KOOS) Pain subscale assessed knee pain. A 1-way analysis of variance compared KOOS pain, symptoms, activities during daily living (ADL), and quality of life (QoL) scores across groups with no, unilateral, and bilateral effusion-synovitis.
Among the athletes, 49.1% showed no effusion-synovitis, 26.4% had unilateral, and 24.5% had bilateral effusion-synovitis. There were no differences in self-reported pain scores ( = 0.027; = 0.97), ADL ( = 0.256; = 0.78), or QoL ( = 0.120; = 0.88) between any groups. In addition, the frequency of effusion-synovitis was as follows: for the right limb, Grade 0 = 35 (66%), Grade 1 = 15 (28%), Grade 2 = 1 (2%), and Grade 3 = 2 (4%); for the left limb, Grade 0 = 31 (58%), Grade 1 = 19 (36%), Grade 2 = 3 (6%), and Grade 3 = 0 (0%).
The presence of effusion-synovitis, irrespective of being unilateral or bilateral, was not associated with self-reported knee pain in elite female athletes. This suggests that lower grades of effusion-synovitis may not significantly impact knee pain.
The findings of this study challenge existing assumptions about the impact of effusion-synovitis on knee pain in athletes, contributing to the nuanced understanding of knee joint health in sports medicine.
近期研究表明，积液性滑膜炎与运动员膝关节疼痛之间可能存在联系。本研究利用超声成像评估积液性滑膜炎，调查精英女性运动员膝关节积液性滑膜炎与自我报告的膝关节疼痛之间的关联。
I 级女子运动员中，膝关节积液性滑膜炎的存在与自我报告的膝关节疼痛增加有关。
横断面研究。
3 级。
共有 53 名美国大学体育协会（NCAA）I 级女子运动员接受了双侧膝关节超声检查，以确定是否存在积液性滑膜炎。膝关节损伤和骨关节炎结果调查（KOOS）疼痛分量表用于评估膝关节疼痛。单向方差分析比较了无积液性滑膜炎、单侧积液性滑膜炎和双侧积液性滑膜炎组之间的 KOOS 疼痛、症状、日常生活活动（ADL）和生活质量（QoL）评分。
在这些运动员中，49.1%没有积液性滑膜炎，26.4%有单侧积液性滑膜炎，24.5%有双侧积液性滑膜炎。任何组之间自我报告的疼痛评分（P = 0.027；F = 0.97）、ADL（P = 0.256；F = 0.78）或 QoL（P = 0.120；F = 0.88）均无差异。此外，积液性滑膜炎的频率如下：右侧肢体，0 级 = 35 例（66%），1 级 = 15 例（28%），2 级 = 1 例（2%），3 级 = 2 例（4%）；左侧肢体，0 级 = 31 例（58%），1 级 = 19 例（36%），2 级 = 3 例（6%），3 级 = 0 例（0%）。
无论单侧还是双侧，积液性滑膜炎的存在与精英女性运动员自我报告的膝关节疼痛均无关联。这表明较低级别的积液性滑膜炎可能不会对膝关节疼痛产生显著影响。
本研究结果挑战了关于积液性滑膜炎对运动员膝关节疼痛影响的现有假设，有助于在运动医学中对膝关节健康有更细致入微的理解。
