ABSTRACT
Background: In recent years, there has been considerable interest in prosthetic alignment techniques for total knee arthroplasty (TKA), particularly in the so-called kinematic alignment, which aims to restore the knee's native alignment. However, implementing this technique requires specialized instruments and procedural steps that can be laborious. This study introduces the bisector of the trochlear groove as a reliable landmark for performing the distal femoral cut while maintaining parallelism with the native femoral joint line. Methods: Three orthopedic specialists assessed 110 X-ray images of full-leg, weight-bearing lower limbs obtained from healthy individuals between January 2021 and December 2022. The bisector of the trochlear groove was identified on the X-ray images, and the angle between this bisector and the femoral joint line was measured. The consistency of these measurements across repeated assessments and different examiners was evaluated. Results: The bisector of the trochlear groove was found to be perpendicular to the femoral joint line, with a mean angle of 89.4°. The inter-rater reliability was 68% within ±1.3° from the mean, while the intra-rater reliability was 82% within ±1.5° from the mean. Conclusions: These results suggest that by performing a femoral cut perpendicular to the bisector of the trochlear groove, surgeons can inherently restore the femoral joint line of the native knee in patients where the native joint line is no longer identifiable due to the effect of osteoarthritis. This method may offer a viable and straightforward alternative to the standard surgical technique currently practiced for kinematic alignment in TKA.
ABSTRACT
Femoro-acetabular impingement (FAI) syndrome is one of the most studied conditions in sports medicine. Surgical or conservative approaches can be proposed for treating FAI, although the best standard of care is not established yet. Our aim is to provide a comprehensive review of the best treatment for FAI syndrome evaluating differences in outcomes between surgical and non-operative management. A literature search was carried out on the PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, and PEDro databases, using the following keywords: "femoroacetabular impingement", "FAI", in association with "surgery", "arthroscopy", "surgical" and "conservative", "physiotherapy", "physical therapy", "rehabilitation", "exercise". Only Level I RCTs were included. Four articles were selected for this systematic review. Our analysis showed different therapeutic protocols, follow-up periods, and outcomes; however, three out of the four studies included favored surgery. Our study demonstrates beneficial effects for both arthroscopic treatment and a proper regimen of physical therapy, nevertheless a surgical approach seemed to offer superior short-term results when compared to conservative care only. Further trials with larger sample sizes and longer follow-ups are needed to assess the definitive approach to the FAI condition.
