Arthroscopy: The Journal of Arthroscopic & Related Surgery
Systematic ReviewPrevalence of Articular Cartilage Lesions and Surgical Clinical Outcomes in Football (Soccer) Players’ Knees: A Systematic Review
Section snippets
Search Strategy
The systematic review of the literature was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement, which aims to improve the standard of reporting of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.39 The protocol used was a priori registered at the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) (http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/; ID: CRD42015025620).
A comprehensive database search using Pubmed, Cochrane Library, SPORTDiscus, and
Study Selection
The database and hand search resulted in 485 titles and abstracts. After duplicate removal, 370 papers were filtered, resulting in 16 full-text papers that were screened for eligibility. After the full-text screening, 5 original studies7, 8, 13, 33, 45 were eligible for inclusion and further analysis. Search strategy steps can be seen in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses flowchart (Fig 1), and the reasons for exclusion were as follows: case study,46, 47
Discussion
The main findings of our systematic review were that all surgical techniques showed good to excellent results in the most players, according to the Brittberg,7, 33 International Knee Documentation Committee,45 and the ICRS13 scoring systems. Furthermore, the football players could successfully return to sports after a microfracture,8, 45 mosaicplasty,13 ACI,45 or chondral debridement.7 These results are encouraging because, when dealing with professional football players, returning as fast and
Conclusions
This study showed that no definitive conclusion could be made in respect to the best surgical technique for articular cartilage and osteochondral lesions. Microfracture and mosaicplasty can provide a faster return to competition and faster clinical and functional results, whereas ACI and/or MACI procedures can enhance longstanding clinical and functional results.
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2022, Journal of Cartilage and Joint PreservationCitation Excerpt :It is 5 to 12 times more frequent than in general population and it is diagnosed 4 to 5 years earlier.7 The articular cartilage of the knee has limited capacity for self-repair because it is avascular and aneural,8,9 being the functional long-term restoration a tough challenge.3 The impact on patient's health and the socioeconomic burden is predictably amplified.10
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2022, Journal of Cartilage and Joint PreservationCitation Excerpt :Despite the frequency of articular cartilage lesions in the footballer, there is little consensus on the optimal treatment strategy. Andrade et al reported varying recovery and return to sport rates in professional football players treated for articular cartilage damage via differing techniques of chondral debridement, microfracture, mosaicplasty, and autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI).6 Similarly, a survey of physicians across International Federation of International Football Medical Centers of Excellence revealed a wide range of preferred treatment strategies for symptomatic knee cartilage lesions.12
The authors report that they have no conflicts of interest in the authorship and publication of this article.