A locked knee in extension: a complication of a degenerate knee with patella alta.
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We present a case of superior dislocation of the patella trapped by interlocked osteophytes. Unlike previous reports, in which the mechanism resulted from a blow to the inferior pole, it is postulated that increased load on the extensor mechanism, combined with patella alta and patellofemoral osteophytes, caused locking of the knee in extension. (+info)
Patellar kinematics, part I: the influence of vastus muscle activity in subjects with and without patellofemoral pain.
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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Reduced motor unit activity of the vastus medialis muscle relative to the vastus lateralis muscle has been implicated as a cause of lateral patellar subluxation. The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of vastus muscle motor unit activity on patellar kinematics. SUBJECTS: Twenty-three women (mean age=26.8 years, SD=8.5, range=14-46) with a diagnosis of patellofemoral pain and 12 women (mean age=29.1 years, SD=5.0, range=24-38) without patellofemoral pain participated. Only female subjects were studied because of potential biomechanical differences between sexes. METHODS: Patellar kinematics (kinematic magnetic resonance imaging) and vastus muscle electromyographic (EMG) activity using indwelling electrodes were measured during resisted knee extension. Measurements of medial and lateral patellar displacement and tilt obtained from magnetic resonance images were correlated with normalized vastus lateralis:vastus medialis oblique muscle and vastus lateralis:vastus medialis longus muscle EMG ratios at 45, 36, 27, 18, 9, and 0 degrees of knee flexion using a stepwise regression procedure. RESULTS: The vastus lateralis:vastus medialis longus muscle EMG ratio contributed to the prediction of lateral patellar glide at 27 degrees of knee flexion (r=-.48), with increased vastus medialis longus muscle activity being associated with greater lateral patellar displacement. A similar inverse relationship was evident with lateral patellar tilt at 36, 27, 18, and 9 degrees of knee flexion. CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION: These results suggest that increased motor unit activity of the vastus medialis muscle appears to be associated with abnormal patellar kinematics in women, but it is not necessarily a cause of abnormal patellar kinematics. (+info)
Radiological changes five years after unicompartmental knee replacement.
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Failure of a unicompartmental knee replacement (UKR) may be caused by progressive osteoarthritis of the knee and/or failure of the prosthesis. Limb alignment can influence both of these factors. We have examined the fate of the other compartments and measured changes in leg alignment after UKR. A total of 50 UKRs was carried out on 45 carefully selected patients between 1989 and 1992. At operation, deliberate attempts were made to avoid overcorrection of the deformity. Four patients died, one patient was lost to follow-up and two knees were revised before review which was at a minimum of five years. Standard long-leg weight-bearing anteroposterior views of the knee and skyline views of the patellofemoral joint were taken before and at eight months and five years after operation. The radiographs of the remaining 43 knees were reviewed twice by blind and randomised assessment to measure the progression of osteoarthritis within the joints. Overcorrection of the deformity in the coronal plane was avoided in all but two knees. Only one showed evidence of progression of osteoarthritis within the patellofemoral joint, and this was only identified in one of the four assessments. Deterioration in the state of the opposite tibiofemoral compartment was not seen. Varus deformity tended to recur. Recurrent varus of 2 degrees was observed between eight months and five years after operation. There was no correlation between the postoperative tibiofemoral angle and the extent of recurrent varus recorded at five years. Changes in alignment may be indicative of minor polyethylene wear or of subsidence of the tibial component. The incidence of progressive osteoarthritis within the knee was very low after UKR. Patients should be carefully selected and overcorrection of the deformity be avoided. (+info)
Primary haematogenous osteomyelitis of the patella: a rare cause for anterior knee pain in an adult.
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Acute osteomyelitis of the patella is a very rare condition, which commonly affects children between the ages of 5-15 years. Primary haematogenous osteomyelitis in an adult usually occurs in patients with associated risk factors like intravenous drug abuse, HIV infection, and trauma. This report discusses a similar condition in a 46 year old women with no associated predisposing risk factors. The rarity of this condition and its atypical presentation should be borne in mind while treating an adult patient with anterior knee pain. Point tenderness over the patella should alert a physician to the possibility of osteomyelitis of the patella. The value of bone scan and computed tomography in the early stages to help diagnose this condition has been stressed. The literature has been reviewed and discussed briefly. (+info)
A technique for 3D in vivo quantification of proton density and magnetization transfer coefficients of knee joint cartilage.
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OBJECTIVE: To develop an MR-based method for the in vivo evaluation of the structural composition of articular cartilage. DESIGN: Five sagittal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocols were acquired throughout the knee joint of 15 healthy volunteers and the boundaries of the cartilage segmented from a previously validated sequence with high contrast between cartilage and surrounding tissue. The other sequences were matched to these data, using a 3D least-squares fit algorithm to exclude motion artefacts. In this way secondary images were computed that included information about the proton density (interstitial water content) and the magnetization transfer coefficient (macromolecules, collagen). The average signal intensities of the 3D cartilage plates were extracted from these data sets and related to a phantom. RESULTS: The signal intensity data showed a high interindividual variability for the proton density (patella 31%, lateral tibia 36%, medial tibia 29%); the patella displaying higher values than the tibia (P< 0.001). There were high correlations between the three plates. The magnetization transfer coefficient also showed high variability (patella 25%, lateral tibia 32%, medial tibia 30%) with the lowest values in the medial tibia (P< 0.01) and lower correlations between the plates. The slice-to-slice variation (medial to lateral) ranged from 9% to 24%. CONCLUSION: An MR-based method has been developed for evaluating the proton density and magnetization transfer of articular cartilage in vivo and observing systematic differences between knee joint cartilage plates. The technique has the potential to supply information about the water content and collagen of articular cartilage, in particular at the early state of osteoarthritic degeneration. (+info)
Retropatellar contact characteristics in total knee arthroplasty with and without patellar resurfacing.
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Total knee replacement with and without patellar resurfacing was performed in 6 cadaver specimens. The contact pressure and contact area between femur and patella was measured at 60 degrees of flexion. In comparison to specimens without resurfacing the specimens with small size resurfacing showed a significant decrease in contact area, whereas average and maximum pressure were unchanged. In specimens with medium size resurfacing, contact area and average pressure increased slightly, whereas maximum pressure increased significantly. Patellar resurfacing did not change the retropatellar pressure, but was associated with reduced contact area. (+info)
Validated measurement of periarticular bone mineral density at the knee joint by dual energy x ray absorptiometry.
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OBJECTIVE: The association of inflammatory arthritis with loss of periarticular bone mineral density (BMD) has been well established. However, changes in bone density cannot be quantified by conventional radiography. This study aimed at developing a new technique for measurement of periarticular bone density at the knee joint by dual energy x ray absorptiometry (DXA) and assessing the precision of this technique for selected areas around the knee. METHODS: To validate this technique for bone density assessment in both patient and control subjects, knee joints from healthy subjects and patients with inflammatory arthritis were selected for study. Posteroanterior (PA) and lateral scans of both knees were acquired with the Hologic 4500 elite bone densitometer. Each scan was repeated three times, with repositioning between scans. Knee scans were obtained with the forearm software and evaluated by subregion analysis. Seven femoral and seven tibial subregions of interest (ROIs) were selected on PA scans. Six ROIs were selected on lateral scans. Precision was determined for each ROI selected. RESULTS: 14 knee joints were studied in each group. Precision, expressed as percentage coefficient of variation (CV%), varied widely between subregions. PA scans were most appropriate for measurement of femoral bone density (CV% = 1.89-2.64%), whereas the best value obtained for ROIs within the tibia was on the lateral scan, where CV% for measurement of the proximal 5 mm was 2.67% in the patient group. CV% for BMD of the patella was excellent at 0.84% in the patient group. CONCLUSION: This new application of DXA can be used to measure periarticular bone density at the knee joint. Regions within the distal femur and patella have been identified as the optimal areas to study (+info)
The sulcus angle and malalignment of the extensor mechanism of the knee.
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Anterior knee pain due to dysplasia of the extensor mechanism is common. We have studied 137 knees (103 patients) in order to identify a rapid and reproducible radiological feature which would indicate the need for further analysis. Overall, 67 knees (49%) had at least one radiological abnormality; 70 (51%) were considered normal. There were five cases of Dejour type-3 dysplasia of the femoral trochlea, nine of type-2 and 12 of type-1. There were 49 cases of patella alta and five of patella infera. Four knees had an abnormal lateral patellofemoral angle (patellar tilt), and in 15 knees there was more than one abnormality. Classification of trochlear dysplasia was difficult and showed poor reproducibility. This was also true for the measurement of the lateral patellofemoral angle. Patellar height was more easily measured but took time. The sulcus angle is an easily and rapidly measurable feature which was reproducible and was closely related to other features of dysplasia of the extensor mechanism. The finding of a normal sulcus angle suggested that seeking other radiological evidence of malalignment of the extensor mechanism was unlikely to reveal additional useful information. The severity of other features of dysplasia of the extensor mechanism correlated with increasing sulcus angle. (+info)