Radiological Assessment of the posterior tibial slope as a risk factor for osteoarthritis of knee joint.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Osteoarthritis is a chronic degenerative disorder that affects the joints, causing pain and stiffness with a prevalence of 22% to 39% in India. With increasing life span and considering the burden that this can cause to both the individual and society, there is an urgent need to be able to detect early, or predict OA in high risk groups, so that preventive measures can be taken. Osteoarthritis has an important correlation with various risk factors such as weight, genetic factors, sex, previous traumas, occupational factors, physical activity, lifestyle and age. The geometry of an articular surface may be an important risk factor for development of knee osteoarthritis. The coronal alignment of the knee has been evaluated extensively, but there are only few studies for the sagittal plane alignment. The posterior inclination of the tibial plateau in relation to its longitudinal axis in lateral view is the Posterior Tibial Slope (PTS). Posterior tibial slope is a determinant of altered joint biomechanics. There are no studies correlating the effect of posterior tibial slope angle as a risk factor for OA knee in Indian population. This study was performed to determine the value of, and confirm whether changes in Posterior Tibial Slope on radiographs are associated with Osteoarthritis.