In vivo evaluation of ankle kinematics and tibiotalar joint contact strains using digital volume correlation and 3 T clinical MRI
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
BACKGROUND: In vivo evaluation of ankle joint biomechanics is key to investigating the effect of injuries on the mechanics of the joint and evaluating the effectiveness of treatments. The objectives of this study were to 1) investigate the kinematics and contact strains of the ankle joint and 2) to investigate the correlation between the tibiotalar joint contact strains and the prevalence of osteochondral lesions of the talus distribution. METHODS: Eight healthy human ankle joints were subjected to compressive load and 3 T MRIs were obtained before and after applying load. The MR images in combination with digital volume correlation enabled non-invasive measurement of ankle joint kinematics and tibiotalar joint contact strains in three dimensions. FINDINGS: The total translation of the calcaneus was smaller (0.48 ± 0.15 mm, p < 0.05) than the distal tibia (0.93 ± 0.16 mm) and the talus (1.03 ± 0.26 mm). These movements can produce compressive and shear joint contact strains (approaching 9%), which can cause development of lesions on joints. 87.5% of peak tensile, compressive, and shear strains in the tibiotalar joint took place in the medial and lateral zones. INTERPRETATION: The findings suggested that ankle bones translate independently from each other, and in some cases in opposite directions. These findings help explain the distribution of osteochondral lesions of the talus which have previously been observed to be in medial and lateral regions of the talar dome in 90% of cases. They also provide a reason for the central region of talar dome being less susceptible to developing osteochondral lesions.
Date Issued
2023-07-01
Date Acceptance
2023-06-14
Citation
Clinical Biomechanics, 2023, 107
ISSN
0268-0033
Publisher
Elsevier
Journal / Book Title
Clinical Biomechanics
Volume
107
Copyright Statement
© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37348206
PII: S0268-0033(23)00163-8
Subjects
Ankle
Ankle Joint
Biomechanical Phenomena
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Talus
Ankle
Digital volume correlation
Joint contact strains
Kinematics
Magnetic resonance imaging
Osteochondral lesions of the talus
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Article Number
ARTN 106032
Date Publish Online
2023-06-16