A large infrapatellar fat pad protects against knee pain and lateral tibial cartilage volume loss.

Introduction: The infrapatellar fat pad (IPFP) is commonly resected during knee joint arthroplasty, but the ramifications of doing so are unclear. This longitudinal study determined whether the size of the IPFP (maximum cross-sectional area (CSA)) was associated with knee cartilage loss and the development of knee pain in adults without knee osteoarthritis (OA).

Methods: A total of 297 adults without American College of Rheumatology clinical criteria for a diagnosis of knee OA were recruited.