Magnetic Resonance Appearance and Clinical Significance of Anterior Suprapatellar Fat Pad in Anterior Knee Pain

Introduction: Anterior knee pain (AKP) is a very common problem in the community and negatively affects the patient’s quality of life. Many pathologies can be the cause of this problem. The principal aim of our study was to evaluate the relationship between the magnetic resonance appearance of the suprapatellar fat pad and AKP.
Methods: Knee magnetic resonance imaging of patients with and without AKP was analyzed retrospectively by two independent radiologists in two groups. The morphological structure of the anterior suprapatellar fat pad and other pathologies that may cause AKP in the knee joint were evaluated. Statistical relationships of the findings were investigated.
Results: Of the 395 patients who participated in the study, 195 (49.4%) were females and 200 (50.6%) were males. The median age of the patients was 43 (18–90) years. There was no significant difference in mean age between individuals with and without AKP (p=0.376). A significant difference was found between patients with and without AKP in terms of posterior contour bowing of the anterior suprapatellar fat pad, edema, and diameter increase in the fat pad, patellar tendinopathy, quadriceps tendinopathy, and medial patellar retinaculum damage (p<0.001, p<0.001, p<0.001, p=0.015, p=0.002, and p=0.032, respectively).
Discussion and Conclusion: Anterior suprapatellar fat pad syndrome is one of the pathologies involved in the etiology of AKP. The close relationship between the posterior contour bowing of the anterior suprapatellar fat pad we defined and AKP should be considered in radiological reporting.

Keywords: Anterior knee pain; Suprapatellar; Quadriceps; Fat pad