# Ultrasound Elastography Assessment of Knee Intra-Articular Adhesions at Varying Knee Angles

## TL;DR

This study shows that ultrasound elastography can reliably measure scar stiffness in the knee at different angles, helping assess joint adhesions.

## Contribution

The study introduces the use of shear wave elastography to quantify knee scar stiffness at varying knee angles.

## Key findings

- SWE values increased with greater knee flexion angles in multiple regions.
- SWE values showed significant differences between specific knee regions at 60° and 90° flexion.
- SWE values correlated with knee motion and passive motion at specific angles.

## Abstract

We aimed to verify the feasibility of using shear wave elastography (SWE) to quantify knee scars and the elastic modulus of scar tissues. Overall, 16 participants underwent SWE assessments and range-of-motion measurement and completed the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score. The inter-rater reliability for SWE in the suprapatellar bursa, below the patellar tendon, and in the medial and lateral trochlear groove remained within 0.861–0.907. The SWE values in the four regions increased with increasing knee angle, and significant differences were observed between the values for below the patellar tendon and the suprapatellar bursa at knee flexion angles of 60° and 90°. The SWE values of the medial and lateral trochlear groove at 30°, 60°, and 90° knee flexion were higher on the affected side. A negative correlation was observed between the SWE values for the lateral trochlear groove at 0°, 30°, and 60° and those for below the patellar tendon at 0° and the suprapatellar bursa at 30° with both active and passive knee extension. The suprapatellar bursa value at 60° exhibited a positive correlation with both knee flexion and passive knee flexion, whereas that of the suprapatellar bursa at 90° exhibited a positive correlation with both the range of motion and passive range of motion. SWE is a replicable and effective method for detecting scar strength in the knee joint.