Osteoarthritis of the knee

توضیحات

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a disease caused by biomechanical stresses affecting the articular cartilage and subchondral bone of the knee. This disease will cause pain and functional impotence.

OA may involve either medial tibiofemoral compartment, lateral tibiofemoral compartment or patellofemoral compartment according to the localization of cartilage deterioration. It is necessary to keep in mind that the diagnosis of knee OA is made at first at clinical examination. Pain, morning stiffness and swelling of the knee in a patient older than 50 must be considered as consequences of OA.

However, imaging modalities also play an important role in knee OA, since they may confirm the diagnosis of OA, determine the involved compartments, and evaluate the stage of the disease. Imaging may also confirm the responsibility for OA in the onset of symptoms and give also information about the evolution of the disease during treatment. Several types of imaging techniques are useful to evaluate knee OA: conventional radiography, MRI and arthro CT-scanner. CT-scanner does not bring any additional information to Conventional Radiography and ultra-sonography is not well suited for this purpose.