Magnetic resonance imaging assessment of the cruciate ligament thickness among apparently healthy Nigerians

Background: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injuries are on the increase in Nigeria and there is no comprehensive study on the relationship between cruciate ligament thickness with age and gender using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) among Nigerians.
Aim of study: The study aimed to assess the thicknesses of the cruciate ligaments among apparently healthy Nigerian population using MRI.
Methods: A total of Ninety-four (94) volunteers aged 21 - 70 years who were referred for MRI knee assessment without any ACL and PCL injuries after radiological assessment of their MRI images by a consultant radiologist were recruited for the study. The study was carried out between June 2018 and December 2018. The Age and gender of the volunteers were recorded and the procedure was thoroughly explained to the participants. After removing all non - MRI compliant metallic objects from their bodies, the volunteers lied supine on the couch, arms by the sides, with head first and the knees were positioned on the knee coils and immobilized with cushions.The standard knee MRI examination protocol was adopted for the examinations using a 0.2 Tesla Siemens Magnetom Concerto MRI equipment. The ACL and PCL were measured at the femoral end, midline, and the tibia end using the computer electronic calipers, and the averages were calculated. The Age and gender - related differences in the cruciate ligament thicknesses were tested using Pearson’s moment correlation coefficient and independent simple t-test respectively at a 5% level of significance.
Result: The average ACL thicknesses for male and female subjects were 4.76 ± 0.78 and 4.56 ± 0.89 respectively while the average PCL thicknesses for male and female subjects were 4.76 ± 0.78 and 4.75±0.79 respectively. There were no statistically significant differences (p > 0.005) in mean values of ACL and PCL between male and female subjects respectively. PCL thicknesses increased with age while the ACL thicknesses decreased with age. Age correlated positively with the ACL(r=0.2) as well with the PCL (r =0.4).
Conclusion: The growths of the posterior and anterior cruciate ligaments have direct and inverse relationships with age respectively. Male volunteer subjects have thicker cruciate ligaments compared to female volunteer subjects.