{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,13]],"date-time":"2026-05-13T03:08:02Z","timestamp":1778641682356,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"National Athletic Trainers' Association","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,12]]},"abstract":"ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n \n Context:<\/jats:title>\n Under the high physical demands of sports, patellofemoral pain (PFP) in one knee may be associated with bilateral alterations in femoral cartilage morphology and quality. However, no studies to date have investigated bilateral femoral cartilage profiles in athletes with unilateral PFP.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Objective:<\/jats:title>\n To (1) compare quantitative and qualitative measures of bilateral femoral cartilage between athletes with unilateral patellofemoral pain (PFP) and pain-free athletes and (2) examine the associations of pain severity and self-reported function with these femoral cartilage profiles in athletes with PFP.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Design:<\/jats:title>\n Cross-sectional study.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Setting:<\/jats:title>\n Laboratory.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Patients or Other Participants:<\/jats:title>\n One hundred thirty-two knees from 66 athletes (33 unilateral PFP and 33 pain-free).<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Main Outcome Measures:<\/jats:title>\n Pain severity (visual analogue scale) and self-reported function (Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score) were obtained. Quantitative ultrasonographic measures of femoral cartilage-cross-sectional area (CSA) and thickness (medial condyle, intercondylar, and lateral condyle)-were evaluated. Femoral cartilage ultrasonography images were qualitatively assessed using a previously validated grading scheme.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results:<\/jats:title>\n \n Versus pain-free athletes, athletes with unilateral PFP exhibited bilaterally smaller CSA (89.96 vs. 81.35mm\n 2<\/jats:sup>\n ; P=.038), medial condyle thickness (2.46 vs. 1.97mm; P<.0001), intercondylar thickness (2.56 vs. 2.27mm; P=.035), and lateral condyle thickness (2.46 vs. 2.15mm, P=.005); however, no differences were observed in ultrasonography grading. Higher pain severity, but not self-reported function, was associated with smaller bilateral femoral cartilage CSA and thickness in athletes with PFP (\u03c1=-0.487 to -0.356; P<.05). Hierarchical regression revealed that pain intensity uniquely explained 11%\u201323% of the variance in bilateral femoral cartilage CSA and thickness (\u0394F=4.96 to 9.93; P<.05).\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusions:<\/jats:title>\n Athletes with unilateral PFP may experience bilaterally smaller femoral cartilage morphology compared with pain-free athletes. Higher pain severity in one knee appears associated with smaller femoral cartilage CSA and thickness across both limbs, underscoring the importance of bilateral evaluation and management in athletes with PFP.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.4085\/1062-6050-0709.25","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,12]],"date-time":"2026-05-12T11:40:36Z","timestamp":1778586036000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Bilateral Femoral Cartilage Morphology in Athletes with Unilateral Patellofemoral Pain: Associations with Pain Severity and Self-reported Function"],"prefix":"10.4085","author":[{"given":"Sungwan","family":"Kim","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Sport Science, Pusan National University, Busan, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Junhyeong","family":"Lim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Athletic Training Laboratory, Department of Sports Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Yongin, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hyeong-sig","family":"Bang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopedic Surgery, GODOIL hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jihong","family":"Park","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Athletic Training Laboratory, Department of Sports Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Yongin, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"2557","container-title":["Journal of Athletic Training"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/nata.kglmeridian.com\/view\/journals\/attr\/aop\/article-10.4085-1062-6050-0709.25\/article-10.4085-1062-6050-0709.25.xml","content-type":"text\/html","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/nata.kglmeridian.com\/downloadpdf\/journals\/attr\/aop\/article-10.4085-1062-6050-0709.25\/article-10.4085-1062-6050-0709.25.xml","content-type":"text\/html","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"syndication"},{"URL":"https:\/\/nata.kglmeridian.com\/downloadpdf\/journals\/attr\/aop\/article-10.4085-1062-6050-0709.25\/article-10.4085-1062-6050-0709.25.xml","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,13]],"date-time":"2026-05-13T02:09:39Z","timestamp":1778638179000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/nata.kglmeridian.com\/view\/journals\/attr\/aop\/article-10.4085-1062-6050-0709.25\/article-10.4085-1062-6050-0709.25.xml"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,12]]},"references-count":0,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4085\/1062-6050-0709.25","relation":{},"ISSN":["1938-162X","1062-6050"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1938-162X","type":"electronic"},{"value":"1062-6050","type":"print"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,12]]}}}