Femoral Cartilage Morphology in Collegiate Archery, Badminton, and Taekwondo Athletes and Nonathletes: A 12-month Prospective Cohort Study.

Authors

Seunghun Lee, Sungwan Kim, Junhyeong Lim, Jihong Park

Published in

Sports health. Pages 19417381261474013. Aug 23, 2026. Epub Aug 23, 2026.

Abstract

Monitoring femoral cartilage morphology in athletic populations may aid early detection of cartilage degeneration and long-term sport-specific adaptations.
Femoral cartilage morphology would differ depending on the type of sport, with badminton and Taekwondo athletes expected to show greater reductions than archery athletes and nonathletes at a 12-month follow-up.
Prospective cohort.
Level 2.
Eighty athletes (29 archery; 23 badminton; 28 Taekwondo) and 29 nonathletes completed ultrasonographic assessment of bilateral femoral cartilage cross-sectional area (CSA) and thickness (lateral condyle, intercondylar, and medial condyle) at baseline (1st year) and at 12-month follow-up (2nd year). Data were analyzed using repeated-measures linear mixed models adjusting for sex, age, and body mass index. Post-hoc pairwise comparisons used the Tukey method, and Cohen's d effect sizes were calculated.
Significant group × time interactions (F_3,315 = 2.66-14.27; P < 0.05) were observed for femoral cartilage CSA and lateral and medial condyle thickness; badminton athletes consistently exhibited greater CSA and thickness than archery athletes (d = 0.87-1.05) and nonathletes (P ≤ 0.002; d = 1.20-1.78), while Taekwondo athletes showed greater CSA and thickness than nonathletes (P ≤ 0.001; d = 0.83-1.46). Within-group decreases from the 1st year to 2nd year were observed in CSA for Taekwondo athletes (P = 0.01; d = 0.56), lateral condyle thickness for badminton and Taekwondo athletes (P ≤ 0.03; d = 0.61-0.69), and medial condyle thickness across all athlete groups (P ≤ 0.002; d = 0.57-1.02). No significant interactions were observed for intercondylar thickness, but group and time main effects were present; badminton athletes displayed the greatest thickness (P < 0.001; d = 0.83-1.20), and thickness decreased over time (P < 0.001; d = 0.40).
Collegiate athletes demonstrate sport-specific adaptations and time-dependent changes in femoral cartilage morphology. Badminton and Taekwondo athletes exhibited greater CSA and thickness than archery athletes and/or nonathletes, with reductions observed after a 12-month follow-up.
Sport-specific evaluations may help clinicians detect early deviations in cartilage adaptation.

PMID:
42634474
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 24 Aug 2026.

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