The goal of this work is to improve the outcomes of treatments for patellofemoral (PF) pain by providing a scientific basis for making treatment decisions. It has been hypothesized that increased cartilage stress may play a primary role in the development of PF pain. A combination of factors may result in increased cartilage and subchondral bone stress and subsequent patellofemoral pain, including decreased cartilage thickness, increased joint contact forces, reduced contact area, unbalanced muscle forces, and patella maltracking. We are using a combination of magnetic resonance imaging, finite-element modeling, dynamic simulation, and motion analysis techniques to determine what are the factors that contribute to increased cartilage stress.

Factors that may contribute to increased cartilage stress and PF pain.

Besier, T.F., Fredericson, M., Gold, G.E., Beaupre, G.S., Delp, S.L. Knee muscle forces during walking and running in patellofemoral pain patients and pain-free controls. Journal of Biomechanics, 2009. (Download PDF file)

Draper, C.E., Besier, T.F., Santos, J.M., Jennings, F., Fredericson, M., Gold, G.E., Beaupre, G.S., and Delp, S.L. Using real-time MRI to quantify altered joint kinematics in subjects with patellofemoral pain and to evaluate the effects of a patellar brace or sleeve on joint motion. Journal of Orthopaedic Research, 2009. (Download PDF file)

Besier, T.F., Gold, G.E., Delp, S.L., Fredericson, M., and Beaupre, G.S. The influence of femoral internal and external rotation on cartilage stress within the patellofemoral joint. Journal of Orthopaedic Research, 2008. (Download PDF file)

Draper, Besier, Gold, Fredericson, Fiene, Beaupre, and Delp. Is cartilage thickness different in young subjects with and without patellofemoral pain? Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, 2006. (Download PDF file)

Besier, Gold, Beaupré, and Delp. A modeling framework to estimate patellofemoral joint cartilage stress in-vivo. Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise, 2005. (Download PDF file)

Besier, Draper, Gold, Beaupre, and Delp. "Patellofemoral joint contact area increases with knee flexion and weight-bearing." Journal of Orthopaedic Research, 2005. (Download PDF file)

Gold, Besier, Draper, Asakawa, Delp, and Beaupre. Weight-Bearing MRI of patellofemoral joint cartilage contact area. Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 2004. (Download PDF file)