Exposure to Live in Geographically Steep Terrain Decreases Patella Height and Increases the Incidence of Patella Baja
Kursad Aytekin1, Ozkan Ozen2, Natalya Ozen3, Esra Akdeniz4, Cem Zeki Esenyel51Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology & Department of Anatomy, University of Giresun Faculty of Medicine, Giresun, Turkey, 2Department of Radiology, Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University Faculty of Medicine, Antalya, Turkey, 3Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University Alanya Training and Research Hospital, Antalya, Turkey, 4Department of Biostatistics, University of Marmara, Istanbul, Turkey, 5Department of Orthopaedic and Traumatology, University of Giresun, Giresun, Turkey
Objectives: This study aims to investigate the effect of the geographical conditions on patellar height. Methods: Two different groups of the same society were created according to the geographical structures that people live in (fully rugged mountainous terrain Giresun and flat terrain Alanya). But the daily activities such as kneeling, praying, squatting or sitting with crossed legs were same culturally. The study included patients living and working in these areas, as their parents, throughout their lives. Knee MRI of patients who did not suffer anterior knee pain were retrospectively evaluated. The Insall-Salvati index (ISI) was calculated and the patella baja incidence rates were compared between regions using the Fisher’s exact test. Results: A total of 885 knee MRIs were evaluated. The mean ISI for all individuals was found significantly different with a mean of 0.946±0.141 in Giresun and 1.014±0.13 in Alanya (p<0.001). The incidence of patella baja for all individuals was 5% in Giresun and 2% in Alanya (p=0.01). Conclusion: Our findings suggested that as the inclination of the region gets steeper; the patella height decreases and the patella baja incidence rate increases. Living in steep sloped geographical structures may be relevant in the etiology of patella baja. Keywords: Mountainous geographic structure, patella baja, patella height
Cite This Article
Aytekin K, Ozen O, Ozen N, Akdeniz E, Esenyel C. Exposure to Live in Geographically Steep Terrain Decreases Patella Height and Increases the Incidence of Patella Baja. EJMI. 2020; 4(2): 161-168
Corresponding Author: Kursad Aytekin