Finite element analysis of the effect of meniscal tears and meniscectomies on human knee biomechanics.

BACKGROUND Many authors have suggested that the high levels of shear and tensile stresses that appear in the articular cartilage after meniscectomy are partly responsible for cartilage pathologies, such as osteoarthrosis. METHODS In this paper, we investigate the effect of meniscal tears and meniscectomies on the human knee joint. Solid models of the tibia, femur, menisci and cartilage were generated from MRI images. A three-dimensional finite element model was developed that included the femur, tibia, cartilage layers, menisci and ligaments. The femur and tibia were considered to be rigid, the articular cartilage and menisci to be linearly elastic, isotropic and homogeneous and the ligaments were modelled as hyperelastic. Three different situations were compared: a healthy tibio-femoral joint, a tibio-femoral joint with tears in one meniscus and a tibio-femoral joint after meniscectomy. FINDINGS The minimal principal stresses corresponding to a compressive load at 0 degrees flexion were obtained for the posterior zone of the medial meniscus and the corresponding region of the articular cartilage. Under an axial femoral compressive load, the maximal contact stress in the articular cartilage after meniscectomy was about twice that of a healthy joint. INTERPRETATION This fact could partially explain the cartilage damage and degeneration that have been observed after meniscectomy.