Abstract
The high prevalence of foot pathologies in women and the elderly could be associated with gender and age difference in the morphology of the foot, particularly the morphology of the keystone of the foot, the talus. The present study investigated the orientation and curvature of the three articular surfaces of the talus in relation to sex and age based on computer tomography (CT), to identify possible morphological factors of the higher prevalence of foot disorders in women and elderly. Fifty-six participants were included in this study. The orientations of the talocrural, subtalar, and talonavicular joints were quantified three-dimensionally by calculating normal and principal axes of the articular surfaces defined by planar approximation. The curvature radii of the articular surfaces were quantified by cylindrical and spherical approximations. The talonavicular surface was significantly more twisted in the frontal plane and less adducted in the transverse plane in females than in males. With aging, the subtalar articular surface was significantly facing more posteriorly. Moreover, it was found that the curvature radii of the trochlea and navicular articular surfaces significantly increased with aging, indicating a flattening of these surfaces. The identified changes in the talar morphology with aging could potentially lead to a higher prevalence of foot disorders in the elderly.
Highlights
The high prevalence of foot pathologies in women and the elderly is suggested to be linked to sex- and age-related differences in the calcaneal morphology
The talus acts as a mechanical linkage between the foot and the leg, and the orientations of the articular surfaces of the talus determine relative positions and movements of the calcaneus and navicular with respect to the tibia during bipedal locomotion [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]
It is well-accepted that the prevalence of the hallux valgus and flatfoot deformity is higher in women [9,10,11,12,13,14] and increases with age [13]
Summary
The high prevalence of foot pathologies in women and the elderly is suggested to be linked to sex- and age-related differences in the calcaneal morphology. It is expected that there exists sexand age-related differences of the articular morphology in the keystone of the foot, the talus. The present study investigated the orientation and curvature of the three articular surfaces of the talus in relation to sex and age based on computer tomography (CT)
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