Clarifying the relation between the marrow contusion pattern around the knee and the types of concomitant intra-articular soft tissue injuries

Background Acute knee injuries represent a prevalent cause of morbidity among athletes and, if overlooked, could potentially lead to the development of chronic functional limitations. This study aimed to identify marrow contusion patterns around the knee and find the relation between each pattern and the intra- and extra-articular soft tissue injuries. This was a retrospective cross-sectional study carried out on 109 patients who presented to the hospital where the study was held with recent knee joint injury, for which magnetic resonance imaging was requested from January 2017 to January 2019. Results The entire patient population under investigation had a mean age of 30.2 ± 9.7 years. Regarding gender distribution, the study comprised 90 males (82.6%) and 19 females (17.4%). Regarding bone marrow contusion patterns in all studied patients, it was pivot shift in 58 patients (53.2%), clip injury in 11 patients (10.1%), dashboard injury in 7 patients (6.4%), hyperextension injury in 3 patients (2.8%), lateral patellar dislocation in 15 patients (13.8%), and others in 15 patients (13.8%). In the pivot shift pattern group, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), medial meniscus, and medial collateral ligament (MCL) injuries were most commonly seen in 94.8, 50, and 44.8% of patients, respectively. Among the clip pattern group, MCL, ACL, and medial meniscus injuries were most common in 90.9, 36.4, and 36.4%, respectively. Regarding the dashboard injury group, posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), ACL, and medial and lateral menisci were the most common injury structures (100, 57.1, 42.9, and 42.9%, respectively). Despite the hyperextension pattern being found in a small number of patients, it shows 100% medial meniscal and 66.7% PCL injuries. Within the group of lateral patellar dislocation patterns, 100% of cases exhibited injuries to the medial patellofemoral ligament. Conclusions Precise localization of the marrow contusion around the knee and defining its pattern help to anticipate the most probable associated soft tissue injuries and, thus, can increase our sensitivity in their detection. This can have a better impact on patients' management outcomes.