Radiographic assessment of hips in patients with spinal cord injury

OBJECTIVE The spinal cord-injured patients begin to present a new configuration of forces on the joints. The hip joint is one of the most affected, because these patients generally use a wheelchair as a means of locomotion. Osteoarticular changes, such as heterotopic ossification, can be found in these patients, as evidenced by radiographic studies. This study aims to identify radiographic changes in hips of spinal cord-injured patients. METHODS 15 patients (30 hips) were evaluated and followed up at the Laboratory of Biomechanical Rehabilitation of the Musculoskeletal System of HC-Unicamp, through the analysis of radiographs of the pelvis in anterior-posterior and Lowenstein lateral positions. RESULTS Of the total hips, only seven (23%) had no evidence of articular damage. The prevalence of heterotopic ossification found (16.6%) was similar to the literature. CONCLUSION The radiographic assessment of these patient's hips is justified by the prevalence of joint changes found. Level of Evidence II, Development of diagnostic criteria in consecutive patients (with universally applied reference "gold" standard).