Stiffness of the proximal tibial bone in osteoarthritic conditions: a parametric simulation study

INTRODUCTION Osteoarthritis (OA) is a painful, debilitating joint disease marked by cartilage degeneration and underlying subchondral bone changes [1]. To date, the exact mechanism of OA initiation and progression is unclear [2]. One predominant theory indicates that observed increased quantity and stiffness of bone near the subchondral surface results in an overall stiffer subchondral bone, which will change the load distribution in cartilage layer leading to OA [3]. However, other OA studies have found decreased amounts of bone at sites distal to the subchondral bone surface (>5 mm), which may also alter subchondral bone stiffness and cartilage load distribution. Using parametric finite element (FE) modeling, the objective of this study was to investigate the relative effects of varying proximal tibial morphologic and mechanical bone properties on overall subchondral bone stiffness.