Joint trauma initiates knee osteoarthritis through biochemical and biomechanical processes and interactions

Abstract

Globally, knee osteoarthritis (OA) is among the top 15 causes of disabil- ity. A patient with a history of mac- rotrauma is more than four times as likely to develop knee OA. Mac- rotrauma initiates a cascade of bio- chemical and biomechanical changes in the joint that interact and can lead to joint failure. The purpose of this critical review is to present an over- view of the early pathophysiological (i.e. biomechanical and biochemical) changes that typically occur after a knee injury and the implications of these changes for early-stage OA in- terventions