The relationship between spinopelvic alignment and knee osteoarthritis in female patients: A cross-sectional study

Background The spine, pelvis, and lower extremities move in the form of a kinematic chain. Objective This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between spinopelvic parameters and knee osteoarthritis. Methods Sixty-nine participants (50–70 years) were diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis: early-stage (n = 36) and late-stage ( n = 33). Knee osteoarthritis severity was assessed using standing antero-posterior radiographs (Kellgren-Lawrence scores). A visual Analog Scale was used to evaluate knee and lumbar pain, the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index to evaluate knee joint function and disability, and the Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Index to evaluate disability associated with lumbar pain. Lateral scoliosis radiographs were taken of all the study participants; pelvic incidence, pelvic tilt, sacral slope, lumbar lordosis, thoracic kyphosis, and sagittal vertical axis values were measured and recorded. Results Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the independent risk factors associated with the clinical and radiological osteoarthritis severity as Body Mass Index, sagittal vertical axis and lumbopelvic mismatch increased. The sacral slope values were determined to be independently negatively correlated with the clinical osteoarthritis severity. However, no correlation was determined with the radiological severity. Conclusion In this study, we determined that global sagittal imbalance and lumbopelvic mismatch are associated with advanced knee osteoarthritis. Although pelvic retroversion was not found to be correlated with the radiographic severity of osteoarthritis, it was found to be associated with poor functional results.