Imaging Modalities for Post-traumatic Arthritis

Primary osteoarthritis (OA) is a common condition with increasing prevalence due to an aging and overweight population. Approximately 12% of OA of lower extremities are of post-traumatic origin. This chapter will focus on advantages and limitations of conventional radiography (CR) and MRI for the assessment and the follow-up of primary and post-traumatic OA. CR has low sensitivity and low reliability, whereas MRI is expensive and not widely available. Both image modalities show relatively often OA features such as osteophytes, cartilage loss, and subchondral sclerosis in asymptomatic patients. In the last section, the chapter will emphasize the low correlation between imaging findings and pain in patients with OA. Several asymptomatic patients show MRI findings of OA, but some findings such as some marrow edema, synovitis with joint effusion, and bone attrition seem to be predictive for pain.