Do ligament-bone attachment angles have any effect on patellar chondromalacia?

Kondromalazi; Manyetik Rezonans Görüntüleme; Diz; Patella Abstract Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the ligament to bone attachments and patellar chondromalacia. Material and Method: This study included a total of 60 knee magnetic resonance imagings of 60 patients (30 with patellar chondromalacia, and 30 without patellar chondromalacia) which were selected randomly from our hospital’s picture archiving and communication system records. T2 weighted fast spin-echo images with fat-saturation were used to detect the presence or absence of chondromalacia patella. The angles between quadriceps tendon and patella (Q-P), patella and patellar tendon (P-PT), and patellar tendon and tibia (PT-T) were measured separately. Results: The mean ages of the patients were 45.1 ± 14.9 for the patellar chondromalacia group and 37.2 ± 11.9 for the non-chondromalacia group. The mean value of the Q-P angle was 42.4 ± 9.2 degrees in the chondromacia group and 46.1 ± 6.9 degrees in the non-chondromalacia group (p=0.083). The mean value of the P-PT angle was 113.9 ± 11.1 degrees in the chondromacia group and 112.9 ± 11.7 degrees in the non-chondromalacia group (p=0.727). Finally, the mean value of the PT-T angle was 29.9 ± 5.9 degrees in the chondromacia group and 28.9 ± 7.6 degrees in the non-chondromalacia group (p=0.608). Discussion: This is the first study that focused on the ligament-bone attachments around the patella. This study revealed that there is no relationship between the attachment angles of the ligamentous structures around the patella and the presence of chondromalacia.