Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Acute Musculoskeletal Injuries of the Knee Joint in Coal Miners: A Retrospective Study

Aim Coal miners are more prone to musculoskeletal injuries to their knees due to specific repetitive movements while working in the seams. We aimed to identify the kinds of and quantify traumatic musculoskeletal injuries to the knee in the coal miners. Methods A retrospective observational analysis of all consecutive emergency admissions of the coal miners with occupational knee injuries between January 2018 and December 2020 was performed. A total of 94 knee trauma events in 79 knees of 76 patients were analyzed in the study. Musculoskeletal injuries of the meniscal and ligamentous/tendinous structures were identified using magnetic resonance imaging of the affected knees. Results The medial meniscal and the anterior cruciate ligament injuries were detected in 72.3% and 51.1% of the events, respectively. Grade 2 and 3 medial meniscal injuries were the most common grades (39.7% and 41.2%, respectively). For the anterior cruciate ligament injuries, grade 2 was the most common (56.3%). In 48.9% of the cases, we detected bony bruise/edema in the tibial plateau (52.2%), and the condyles of the femur (45.7%) were almost equally affected. Intraarticular effusions appeared in 59.6% of the cases. Conclusions Our findings provide detailed identification of the injuries seen in the coal miners. The medial meniscus and the anterior cruciate ligament are the most frequently injured structures.