A long-term follow-up study of the clinical and radiological outcomes of arthroscopic meniscectomy indicated that the type of meniscus lesion, older age, or intraoperatively described significant cartilage damage were not the most radiologically critical factors for the development of osteoarthritis [22]. It was implied that biomechanical factors might trigger the development of KOA. In this study, a high-fidelity three-dimensional finite element model of the knee joint (including bone, articular cartilage, meniscus, and major ligaments) after PMM was developed. The main purpose was to compare the effects of the different flexion angles, as well as internal and external rotations on the contact stress of the tibiofemoral joint.
The present study demonstrated that the maximum stress of medial plateau cartilage was higher than that of the lateral, and it increased with the increased angle of knee flexion. However, this characteristic did not apply to the meniscus and femoral cartilage. Previous studies have shown that the medial meniscus is more important than the lateral, for it restrains uniplanar anterior loads on the tibia [23]. Furthermore, compared with the lateral meniscus resection, the biomechanical changes of the medial meniscus resection are more significant, which is why we have chosen medial meniscectomy as the target of this study. Our study confirmed the hypothesis that tibiofemoral articular cartilage contact area overload was related to knee range of motion.
Under a 1150 N compression combined with 4 Nm internal rotation load, the maximum stress of the lateral meniscus was greater than the medial at 0°, 30°, 90° flexion. At 60° flexion, the maximum stress of the medial meniscus was greater than the lateral. For femoral condyle and tibial plateau at different knee flexion angles and rotation, the maximum stress on the inside of the cartilage was greater than that on the outside. In case of 1150 N load combined with 4 Nm external rotation, the maximum stress on the outside of the tibial plateau was greater than the inside when the knee was flexed at 30° and 90°. The maximum stress on the tibial plateau cartilage at 0° and 60° was greater on the inside than the outside, and at 0°, 30°, 60° and 90°, the maximum stress on femoral condyle cartilage and the meniscus was greater on the inside than the outside. The finite element simulation results of the model straightening at 0° were similar to the results of previous studies on peak stress. But with the increase of the flexion angle, the maximum stress of articular cartilage and meniscus in our model was greater than the healthy one [16, 21]. Moreover, the maximum stress gradually moved backward as the angle of flexion increased. Our results indicated that more stress was concentrated on the edge of the removed meniscus and the maximum stress of the medial tibial plateau increased, which could explain the mechanical mechanism underlying the progression of KOA.
The maximum stress value of the medial tibial plateau cartilage was 4.3–4.8 times that of the lateral when the knee was flexed at 0°. At the same time, the maximum stress of the medial femoral condyle cartilage at 0° flexion and external rotation was more than 8 times that of the outer side, except for 0° flexion and internal rotation, while the maximum stress of the medial side was only 0.65 times that of the outer side. When combining internal and external rotation under different joint flexion degrees, in most cases, the maximum stress on the medial cartilage of the knee joint was greater than that on the lateral side. The above results showed that the significant increased stress on medial components (including cartilage and meniscus) was caused by the teared medial meniscus, which was consistent with the previous studies [13, 24]. The stress concentration directly indicated that the abnormal overload could damage the risky area.
When vertical and forward loads are applied to the knee, the intact meniscus exhibits compression and displacement to provide adequate contact area between the cartilage of the femoral condyle and the tibial plateau. The meniscus bears stress, absorbs shock, and disperses stress by deformation. Previous studies have shown that the contact pressure of the normal knee joint medial compartment is greater than that of the lateral compartment in a healthy person, and the medial meniscus bears more mechanical effects [25, 26]. Consistent with the results in previous health models, our study showed that the maximum stress of the medial tibial plateau, including cartilage and meniscus, was greater than that of the lateral [21]. Generally, the current study demonstrated that the maximum stress on the lateral meniscus was greater than that on the medial side, except in a knee flexion of 60°. However, the opposite occurred in tibial plateau cartilage, demonstrating that the maximum stress was larger on the medial side. The reason could be that the circumferential bearing capacity of the medial meniscus was weakened after partial resection of the medial meniscus, and thus the effect of shock absorption and pressure was attenuated, showing that the maximum medial contact stress of tibiofemoral articular cartilage was greater than the outer side. Based on the results, it is suggested that evaluating the effect of load at different angles of joint motion on knee cartilage may help to identify the risk factors for the development of KOA, even if the knee is stable and functions well.
When the knee was flexed and rotated internally and externally, the maximum displacement of the lateral meniscus was greater than that of the medial side. The maximum displacement of the meniscus increased with the rise of the flexion angle. It was suggested that in knee joint flexion and rotation, the healthy side of the meniscus bore a larger load, which could reduce the stress load of tibiofemoral articular cartilage. Under different degrees of knee flexion and rotation, the removed medial meniscus only bore part of the load on the free edge. These results indicated an increase in the direct contact area of the medial tibiofemoral joint cartilage.
Previous studies have shown that without the shock absorption by the meniscus, increasing the direct contact area between the femoral condyle cartilage and the tibial plateau leads to elevated stress, which can result in early cartilage degradation and early-onset osteoarthritis [13]. Our results illustrated the compression of cartilage and meniscus after partial meniscus surgery in detail. As the degrees of flexion and rotation increased, more stress was concentrated on the medial tibial plateau and the edge of the meniscus. This increase in stress could lead to early proteolytic degradation of the meniscus matrix and articular cartilage, thereby reducing the tensile strength. Although the characteristics of cartilage stress and meniscus displacement in the present model only reflect the transient response of the knee joint under compression load induction, previous studies have suggested that higher shear stress may cause early proteolytic degradation of the meniscus matrix and the tension of the articular cartilage may reduce the strength [26]. The peak shear stresses on the meniscus showed an obvious increase, and that on the cartilage was slightly increased.
Early studies have supported APM as a standard procedure, although some patients may experience poor outcomes due to joint instability [27]. Yet, other clinical studies have shown that despite the well-known benefits and general acceptance of arthroscopic partial meniscectomy, the procedure cannot be considered benign considering the consequent development of osteoarthritis in patients [22, 28]. We believe that the relationship between knee flexion load and articular cartilage maximum stress as revealed in this model can be helpful for clinical decision-making. Based on our model, we infer that the medial tibiofemoral joint degeneration of KOA after PMM may be related to different joint motion angles. Hence, the biomechanical characteristics of the knee joint under different flexion and extension angles and different loads need further exploration for better rehabilitation after knee joint injury.
The limitations of this study should be addressed: this model is a single case study, and the finite element model of the same individual before and after surgery has not been constructed; the knee joint stresses of different injury types have not been compared and analyzed, and the stresses in complex sports have not been investigated.