Abstract
Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between the morphology of the proximal tibiofibular joint (PTFJ) and the presence of knee osteoarthritis (OA).Methods: Twenty-eight OA subjects and 30 healthy subjects were enrolled in this study. A 3D model of the lower limb of each subject was constructed from CT scans and used to measure the characteristics of the PTFJ, including the shape of the articular facets, articular surface area, joint inclination, relative articular height, and joint declination. The association between the characteristics of the PTFJ and presence of knee OA was assessed using binomial logistic regression analysis.Results: There was a significant difference between the OA and healthy groups in terms of the inclination (p = 0.028) and declination (p = 0.020) of the PTFJ and relative articular height (p = 0.011). A greater inclination angle (OR: 1.463, 95% CI: 1.124–1.582, p = 0.021), greater declination angle (OR: 1.832, 95% CI: 1.691–2.187, p = 0.009), and lower relative articular height (OR: 0.951, 95% CI: 0.826–0.992, p = 0.008) were found to be associated with an increased likelihood of knee OA being present.Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that abnormal PTFJ morphology is associated with the presence of knee OA.
Highlights
Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a common degenerative disease affecting ∼50% of individuals aged over 60, and is prevalent in post-menopausal women suffering from osteoporosis (Pavelka et al, 2010)
A greater inclination angle (OR: 1.463, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.124–1.582, p = 0.021), greater declination angle (OR: 1.832, 95% CI: 1.691–2.187, p = 0.009), and lower relative articular height (OR: 0.951, 95% CI: 0.826–0.992, p = 0.008) were found to be associated with an increased likelihood of knee OA being present
A larger declination angle was significantly correlated with knee OA, which indicated that the more posterior the head of the fibula relative to the lateral condyle of the tibia, the more likely the knee was to display signs of OA
Summary
Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a common degenerative disease affecting ∼50% of individuals aged over 60, and is prevalent in post-menopausal women suffering from osteoporosis (Pavelka et al, 2010). Understanding risk factors related to the onset of knee OA is beneficial for treating or preventing the disease at an early stage. PTFJ and Knee OA area of the PTFJ has been reported to vary from 0.17 cm (Ogden, 1974) to 3.26 cm (Espregueira-Mendes and da Silva, 2006). The joint morphology can be classified into 3 types according to the shape of the articular facets (Espregueira-Mendes and da Silva, 2006): plane type, trochoid type and double trochoid type. The PTFJ can be classified as either horizontal type or oblique type according to the inclination angle between the fibular articular surface and the horizontal plane. Horizontal type joints have an angle of 20◦ (Ogden, 1974)
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