Abstract:

Objective: The position of the patella relative to the femur is critical in the evaluation of patellofemoral joint diseases. Blumensaat defined a line to evaluate patellofemoral congruence, which is still used clinically. This study aimed to evaluate age- and gender-related changes in the blumensaat line (BL). Methods: Images of 229 patients, who underwent standard lateral knee radiography at 30° flexion, were retrospectively evaluated. The relationship between BL and interior pole of the patella was examined, and the variability of the measurements according to gender and age groups was investigated using statistical methods. Results: Two hundred and twenty-nine patients (128 men; 101 women) were included in the study. The mean age was 41.96±13.41 years (39.63±13 years for men and 44.90±12.2 years for women). BL passed through the lower pole of the patella in only two (0.9%) of the 229 patients. No statistically significant difference was found in the BL measurement of men and women (p>0.05). There was also no statistically significant relationship between age and these distance values (r=-0.112; p>0.05). Conclusion: It was concluded that there was no difference between genders and different age groups in terms of BL measurements.

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