Author/Editor     Heijink, Andras; Drobnič, Matej
Title     Biomechanical considerations in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis of the knee
Type     članek
Vol. and No.     Letnik 20, št. 3
Publication year     2013
Volume     str. 423-435
ISSN     0942-2056 - Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA
Language     eng
Abstract     Osteoarthritis is the most common joint disease and a major cause of disability. The knee is the large joint most affected. While chronological age is the single most important risk factor of osteoarthritis, the pathogenesis of knee osteoarthritis in the young patient is predominantly related to an unfavorable biomechanical environment at the joint. This results in mechanical demand that exceeds the ability of a joint to repair and maintain itself, predisposing the articular cartilage to premature degeneration. This review examines the available basic science, preclinical and clinical evidence regarding several such unfavorable biomechanical conditions about the knee: malalignment, loss of meniscal tissue, cartilage defects and joint instability or laxity.
Keywords     cartilage
malalignment
meniscus
osteochondral defects
joint instability
pathology
etiology