Korean J Sports Med.  2022 Mar;40(1):54-58.

Acute Infrapatellar Fat Pad Injury after Non-contact, Hyperflexion Injury in a Professional Football Player: A Case Report

• Lee CC
• Park KB
• Han JW

Abstract

We describe the case of a 28-year-old male professional football player experiencing right knee pain after noncontact, hyperflexion injury during a regular professional football league match. Infrapatellar fat pad injury was confirmed using magnetic resonance imaging. The athlete was fully recovered with conservative treatment and could return to sports at 6 weeks after injury.

Keyword

Knee; Adipose tissue; Athletic injuries; Football

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 T1-weighted sagittal magnetic resonance image of the knee shows the intracapsular but extrasynovial fat pads–infrapatellar fat pad (IPF), quadriceps fat pad (QFP), prefemoral fat pad (PFP).

• 

  Fig. 2 Video recordings show the mechanism of an athlete’s injury. While competing with the opponent while dribbling alone, the right foot slipped on the last touch of the ball without direct collision, and the ipsilateral knee was flexed more than 140° and externally rotated.

• 

  Fig. 3 On magnetic resonance image (MRI) scan, low signal intensity in the T1-weighted sagittal image (A) and high signal intensity in the T2-weighted sagittal image (B) were observed at the infrapatellar fat pad located in the anterior part of the anterior horn of the lateral meniscus (arrow). MRIs show fluid collection anteriorly from the proximal tibia extending to the anterior horns of the meniscus.

Reference

1. Gallagher J, Tierney P, Murray P, O'Brien M. 2005; The infrapatellar fat pad: anatomy and clinical correlations. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 13:268–72. DOI: 10.1007/s00167-004-0592-7. PMID: 15678298.

2. Dragoo JL, Johnson C, McConnell J. 2012; Evaluation and treatment of disorders of the infrapatellar fat pad. Sports Med. 2:51–67. DOI: 10.2165/11595680-000000000-00000. PMID: 22149697.

3. Yi SR, Im SH, Cho EH. 2021; Acute infrapatellar fat pad separation after contusion in the kneeling position. J Korean Orthop Assoc. 56:341–5. DOI: 10.4055/jkoa.2021.56.4.341.

4. Kim SH. 2008; A study of reviewing a trend of Korean sports injury literatures. J Sport Leis Stud. 34:1029–39. DOI: 10.51979/KSSLS.2008.11.34.1029.

5. Stephen JM, Sopher R, Tullie S, Amis AA, Ball S, Williams A. 2018; The infrapatellar fat pad is a dynamic and mobile structure, which deforms during knee motion, and has proximal exten-sions which wrap around the patella. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 26:3515–24. DOI: 10.1007/s00167-018-4943-1. PMID: 29679117.

6. Okita Y, Oba H, Miura R, Morimoto M, Gamada K. 2020; Movement and volume of infrapatellar fat pad and knee kinematics during quasi-static knee extension at 30 and 0° flexion in young healthy individuals. Knee. 27:71–80. DOI: 10.1016/j.knee.2019.10.019. PMID: 31918962.

7. Mathieu L, Chetouani M, Janku D, Vandenbussche E, Augereau B. 2011; Posttraumatic dislodgement of the infrapatellar fat pad: an unusual type of superolateral impingement. Orthop Traumatol Surg Res. 97:776–8. DOI: 10.1016/j.otsr.2011.05.009. PMID: 22000595.

8. Lapègue F, Sans N, Brun C, et al. 2016; Imaging of traumatic injury and impingement of anterior knee fat. Diagn Interv Imaging. 97:789–807. DOI: 10.1016/j.diii.2016.02.012. PMID: 27118690.

9. Doner GP, Noyes FR. 2014; Arthroscopic resection of fat pad lesions and infrapatellar contractures. Arthrosc Tech. 3:e413–6. DOI: 10.1016/j.eats.2014.04.002. PMID: 25126514. PMCID: PMC4129979.