If there is minimal space between the bones the joint is worn and the cartilage has thinned out, this is advanced arthritis of the knee. The distance between the femur and the tibia is really the amount of space the cartilage should take up.įor instance, if there is a lot of room between the femur and tibia, that means there is good joint space or a normal amount of cartilage is inferred. This misses a good opportunity to compare to your supposedly “normal” knee, and often shows signs of change such as arthritis on the other side. When pain persists but the initial radiographs are normal or. Some doctors only look at the one you say is hurting you. Typically, radiography is the initial imaging study used to evaluate chronic pain in a native knee. and should make a habit of comparing both knees. Physicians are able to measure the space between the femur, both medially and laterally. It is also used to check for an injury or damage from conditions such as an infection, arthritis, bone growths (tumors), or other bone diseases, such as osteoporosis. It is done to see whether a bone has been fractured or a joint dislocated. ![]() X-rays show bones, but cartilage, ligaments, and muscles can only be seen on an MRI. An extremity X-ray is a picture of your hand, wrist, arm, foot, ankle, knee, hip, or leg. The inside of the femur and tibia form the medial joint and the outside of the femur and tibia form the lateral compartment. The larger shin bone is called the tibia and the smaller shin bone is called the fibula, which does not connect to the knee joint. ![]() The large thigh bone is known as the femur, which lies between two shin bones. Before we get into reading a knee x-ray we first need to understand some simple knee anatomy.
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