0762 - Trabecular Bone Strain Changes Associated with Subchondral Bone Defects in the Tibial Plateau

Introduction: Subchondral bone defects in the proximal tibia are commonly encountered with tibial plateau fractures. Bone defects and grafting treatments affect knee mechanics but the effects are not well understood. Changes in subchondral strain affect cartilage stress which likely contributes to posttraumatic arthritis. Historically, investigators have had to use analytical models to study trabecular mechanics. Texture correlation allows direct measurement of trabecular strain . The purpose of our study was to use this technique to evaluate two hypotheses related to the effects of subchondral trabecular defects. First, subchondral defects will increase strains in proportion to defect size. Second, both morselized bone graft and PMMA will return strains to near normal levels.