Etiology Osteoarthritis of the knee usually occurs secondary to mechanical factors, which include partial or complete meniscectomy, femoral osteonecrosis, lower extremity trauma, ligamentous laxity, obesity, and lower extremity malalignment.[1,2] Pathophysiology With removal of approximately one third of the meniscus, increased force is transferred directly to the tibial articular surface. The joint also becomes less congruent and is not able to disperse the force across the joint. Both of these factors increase contact stresses, which can lead to articular cartilage damage and subsequent osteoarthritis.
Results from multiple laboratory studies have shown that abnormal alignment also leads to abnormal contact stress. Ogata et al, Wu et al, and Reimann performed similar studies in which a varus stress was placed across the knee.[12] Each study documented degeneration of the articular…
