{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,10]],"date-time":"2026-04-10T14:05:49Z","timestamp":1775829949742,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,9]],"date-time":"2026-04-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1775692800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Medicina"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background and objectives: Articular cartilage provides low-friction articulation across joint surfaces, distributes loads, and absorbs stress, all of which are crucial mechanical functions of joints. Changes in the mechanical characteristics of cartilage are among the first signs of degenerative joint disease, and they are especially important for athletes who are subjected to high-impact, high-magnitude loading on a regular basis. The objective of this study was to: (i) compare the mechanical characteristics of tibiofemoral cartilage in healthy and osteoarthritic conditions across medial and lateral anatomical compartments; and (ii) use nonlinear phenomenological viscoelastic modeling in conjunction with unconfined compression testing to characterize compartment-specific viscoelastic behavior. Materials and Methods: Forty-six human tibiofemoral cartilage samples were collected during knee surgeries and classified as healthy (n = 17) or osteoarthritic (n = 29) and as medial (n = 26) or lateral (n = 20). Quasi-static unconfined compression tests were performed at 1 mm\/min to obtain stress\u2013strain responses, Young\u2019s modulus, maximum compressive stress, and energy absorption. Viscoelastic behavior was analyzed using a nonlinear phenomenological viscoelastic model. Appropriate parametric or non-parametric statistical tests and effect size measures were applied. Results: Osteoarthritic cartilage\u2019s stiffness and energy absorption were significantly higher than those of healthy tissue (p &lt; 0.05). Medial cartilage exhibited significantly greater stiffness and stress than lateral cartilage (p &lt; 0.001). The nonlinear phenomenological viscoelastic model provided an excellent fit (R2 &gt; 0.999). Conclusions: The mechanical profile of osteoarthritic tibiofemoral cartilage is characterized by pathological mechanical remodeling and increased stiffness. Greater mechanical susceptibility in the medial compartment supports the significance of cartilage biomechanical properties as sensitive indicators of early degeneration and osteoarthritis risk in athletic populations.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/medicina62040720","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,10]],"date-time":"2026-04-10T09:08:12Z","timestamp":1775812092000},"page":"720","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Mechanical Signatures of Tibiofemoral Cartilage Degeneration Identified by Unconfined Compression Testing: Implications for Early Osteoarthritis Risk in Athletes"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"62","author":[{"given":"Saida","family":"Benhmida","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Biophysics and Medical Technologies, Higher Institute of Medical Technologies of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, 9 Street, Doctor Zouheir Safi, Tunis 1006, Tunisia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8091-1856","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ismail","family":"Dergaa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"High Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Ksar Said, University of Manouba, Manouba 2010, Tunisia"},{"name":"Physical Activity Research Unit, Sport and Health (UR18JS01), National Observatory of Sports, Tunis 1003, Tunisia"},{"name":"High Institute of Sport and Physical Education of El Kef, University of Jendouba, Jendouba 7100, Tunisia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-2214-4667","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Halil \u0130brahim","family":"Ceylan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Physical Education and Sports Teaching Department, Faculty of Sports Sciences, Ataturk University, Erzurum 25240, Turkey"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8409-868X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nicola Luigi","family":"Bragazzi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (LIAM), Department of Mathematics and Statistics, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6064-5634","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andrea","family":"de Giorgio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Artificial Engineering s.r.l, 80121 Naples, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hanene","family":"Boussi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Biophysics and Medical Technologies, Higher Institute of Medical Technologies of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, 9 Street, Doctor Zouheir Safi, Tunis 1006, Tunisia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hedi","family":"Trabelsi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Biophysics and Medical Technologies, Higher Institute of Medical Technologies of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, 9 Street, Doctor Zouheir Safi, Tunis 1006, Tunisia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Belluzzi, E., Todros, S., Pozzuoli, A., Ruggieri, P., Carniel, E.L., and Berardo, A. 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