OBJECTIVE To determine the ideal angle for making the distal femoral cut in total knee arthroplasty in a Brazilian population. METHODS Panoramic radiographs of the lower limbs bearing weight from 79 patients (57 women and 22 men) were studied, totaling 107 knees with an indication for total knee arthroplasty. The femoral anatomical axis, femoral mechanical axis and cervical-diaphyseal angle w...

Ligament balancing in total knee arthroplasty may have an important influence on joint stability and prosthesis lifetime. In order to provide quantitative information and assistance during ligament balancing, a device that intraoperatively measures knee joint forces and moments was developed. Its performance and surgical advantages were evaluated on six cadaver specimens mounted on a knee joint...

BACKGROUND Female athletes participating in high-risk sports suffer anterior cruciate ligament injury at a 4- to 6-fold greater rate than do male athletes. HYPOTHESIS Prescreened female athletes with subsequent anterior cruciate ligament injury will demonstrate decreased neuromuscular control and increased valgus joint loading, predicting anterior cruciate ligament injury risk. STUDY DESIGN...

BACKGROUND Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is often accompanied with medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury. Assessment of varus-valgus (V-V) instability in the ACL-deficient knee is crucial for the management of the concomitant ACL-collateral ligaments injury. We evaluated the V-V laxity and investigated the effect of additional posterior tibial load on the laxity in the ACL-deficient...

PURPOSE To compare knee alignments in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) using computer-assisted navigation versus conventional guiding systems. METHODS Five men and 49 women aged 49 to 79 years underwent TKA for primary osteoarthritis of the knee with varus deformity. All valgus knees were associated with inflammatory arthritis and thus excluded. Computer-assisted navigation was used for the firs...

BACKGROUND We hypothesized that a number of clinical and radiologic parameters could influence the reducibility of varus deformity in total knee arthroplasty. The aim of this study was to identify the factors correlated with reducibility of varus deformity and predict more accurately the amount of medial soft tissue release required in varus deformity total knee arthroplasty. METHODS One hund...

Varus and valgus joint laxity of the normal living knee in flexion was assessed using MRI. Twenty knees were flexed to 90 degrees and were imaged in neutral and under a varus-valgus stress in an open MRI system. The configuration of the tibiofemoral joint gap was studied in slices which crossed the epicondyles of the femur. When a varus stress was applied, the lateral joint gap opened by 6.7 +/...

There are few data available regarding the association between hallux valgus and pain or functional limitation. We determined the prevalence of hallux valgus in a rural Korean population aged between 40 and 69 years, and its association with pain and function. A total of 563 subjects was examined using the foot health status questionnaire, the Short Form-36 questionnaire and weight-bearing ante...

The medial collateral ligament (MCL) is the primary restraint to knee valgus rotation and a secondary restraint to anterior tibial translation. The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a primary restraint to anterior tibial translation, but its contribution to valgus restraint was debated. To address this, a combined experimental and computational study was conducted to determine the effect of A...