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Increasing lateral tibial slope: is there an association with articular cartilage changes in the knee?

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Abstract

Purpose

The geometry of the lateral tibial slope (LTS) plays an important role in the overall biomechanics of the knee. Through this study, we aim to assess the impact of LTS on cartilage degeneration in the knee.

Materials and methods

A retrospective analysis of 93 knee MRI scans (1.5 T or 3 T) for patients aged 20–45 years with no history of trauma or knee surgery, and absence of internal derangement. The LTS was calculated using the circle method. Chondropathy was graded from 0 (normal) to 3 (severe). Linear regression analysis was used for statistical analysis (p < 0.05).

Results

In our cohort of patients, a statistically significant association was seen between increasing LTS and worsening cartilage degenerative changes in the medial patellar articular surface and the lateral tibial articular surface (p < 0.05). There was no statistically significant association between increasing LTS and worsening chondropathy of the lateral patellar, medial trochlea, lateral trochlea, medial femoral, lateral femoral, and medial tibial articular surfaces.

Conclusions

Our results show a statistically significant association between increasing LTS and worsening cartilage degenerative changes in the medial patella and the lateral tibial plateau. We speculate that increased LTS may result in increased femoral glide over the lateral tibial plateau with subsequent increased external rotation of the femur predisposing to patellofemoral articular changes. Future arthroscopic studies are needed to further confirm our findings.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Imaging, Royal University Hospital, and College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 103 Hospital Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 0W8, Canada

    Nasir Khan, Michael Shepel, David A. Leswick & Haron Obaid

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  1. Nasir Khan
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  2. Michael Shepel
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  3. David A. Leswick
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  4. Haron Obaid
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Haron Obaid.

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Khan, N., Shepel, M., Leswick, D.A. et al. Increasing lateral tibial slope: is there an association with articular cartilage changes in the knee?. Skeletal Radiol 43, 437–441 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-013-1800-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-013-1800-7

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