Anatomical analysis of the pelvis to identify any predisposing anatomical factors for ischiofemoral space pathology: a retrospective study.

Abstract

Anatomical analysis of the hips and pelvis was performed using MRI to evaluate morphological characteristics and associations between them. We identified correlations between the ischiofemoral space (IFS), quadratus femoris space (QFS), femoral version angle (FVA) and cervicodiaphyseal angle (CDA). This study involved a retrospective search of a database of consecutive reports of adult hip MRI examinations carried out between January and September 2016. Patients with a medical history likely to affect pelvic and hip morphometry were excluded. A total of 137 adult patients were enrolled in the study (45.3% males and 54.7% females), with a mean age of 50.16 ± 13.87 years. The mean IFS was 20.88 ± 5.96 mm, mean QFS was 15.2 ± 6.18 mm, mean FVA was 12.43 ± 6.98, and mean CDA was 121.27 ± 4.6°. The IFS measurements were significantly correlated with femoral measurements (p = 0.025). These visible differences showed a slight negative relationship (-0.191), and females had a smaller distance between these anatomical structures than males (p < 0.001). Females had a significantly smaller QFS than males (12.42 ± 5.94 vs 18.73 ± 4.48 mm, p = 0.000). There was a small but significant positive relationship between CDA and FVA (p = 0.022), with a correlation coefficient of 0.195. A higher FVA was correlated with a smaller IFS. Furthermore, an increase in the CDA appeared in tandem with an increase in the FVA. A single conventional MRI sequence can alert us to how anatomical factors could predispose individuals to a decrease in IFS.