FEMORAL MORPHOMETRY AND ANTERIOR KNEE PAIN

By computed tomography scan, morphology of the femur in 20 adult patie nts with anterior knee pain was compared with that of ten volunteers w ithout knee pain to identify femoral characteristics associated with t he painful patella. Anteversion, measured as the difference between th e axis of the head-neck and the axis of the posterior condyles, was si gnificantly greater in symptomatic adults (p < 0.01). Configuration of the distal femur and position of the patella relative to the femur we re similar in each group. Adult anterior knee pain was, therefore, ass ociated with increased anteversion without compensatory change in troc hlear morphology or patellar orientation to the femur.