The Relationship of Femoral Neck Shaft Angle and Adiposity to Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome in Women
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Original article Br J Sports Med: first published as 10.1136/bjsports-2011-090744 on 30 April 2012. Downloaded from The relationship of femoral neck shaft angle and adiposity to greater trochanteric pain syndrome in women. A case control morphology and anthropometric study Fearon AM,1,2 Stephens S,2 Cook JL,3 Smith PN,1,2 Neeman T,4 Cormick W,5 Scarvell JM2 ▶ Additional tables are pub- ABSTRACT are sex and age,9 10 with older women at greater lished online only. To view the Objective To evaluate if pelvic or hip width predis- risk of developing GTPS. Other possible intrinsic fi les please visit the journal posed women to developing greater trochanteric pain online (http://bjsm.bmj.com/ factors are adiposity and biomechanics. Elevated content/46/12.toc) syndrome (GTPS). adiposity has been proposed as an under rec- Design Prospective case control study. ognised risk factor for all tendinopathies11 sug- 1Department of Medicine, Biology and the Environment, Participants Four groups were included in the study: gesting a systemic mechanism is involved rather Australian National University, those gluteal tendon reconstructions (n=31, GTR), those than mechanical overload.6 Peripheral adiposity, Canberra, Australian Capital with conservatively managed GTPS (n=29), those with (gynoid distribution), appears to be a risk factor Territory, Australia hip osteoarthritis (n=20, OA) and 22 asymptomatic for developing tendinopathy in women.12 To 2 Department of Surgery, The participants (ASC). Trauma and Orthopaedic date, the level of adiposity in GTPS has only been Research Unit, Canberra, Methods Anterior-posterior pelvic x-rays were reported in terms of body mass index (BMI), with Australian Capital Territory, evaluated for femoral neck shaft angle; acetabular index, values ranging from 22.1 kgm−213 to 27.3 kgm−2.14 Australia and width at the lateral acetabulum, and the superior BMI measures the relationship between height 3 Primary Health Care, Monash and lateral aspects of the greater trochanter. Body mass and weight but does not indicate fat distribution, University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia index, and waist, hip and greater trochanter girth were a key factor in determining the systemic effects of 4Statistical Consulting Unit, measured. Data were analysed using a one-way analysis increased adiposity.15 As there is some evidence Australian National University, of variance (ANOVA; posthoc Scheffe analysis), then to suggest increased adiposity is a risk factor for Acton, Australian Capital multivariate analysis. developing tendinopathy in women, the rela- Territory, Australia Results The GTR group had a lower femoral neck 5Canberra Specialist tionship of adiposity and GTPS deserves further Ultrasound, Deakin West, shaft angle than the other groups (p=0.007). The OR investigation. Australian Capital Territory, (95% CI) of having a neck shaft angle of less than 134°, Other intrinsic risk factors for developing GTPS Australia relative to the ASC group: GTR=3.33 (1.26 to 8.85); that have been reported in review papers and GTPS=1.4 (0.52 to 3.75); OA=0.85 (0.28 to 2.61). The textbooks (in runners) include leg length discrep- http://bjsm.bmj.com/ Correspondence to 16 16–19 Fearon AM, OR of GTR relative to GTPS was 2.4 (1.01 to 5.6). No ancy and pelvic width. However, leg length Centre for Hip Health and group difference was found for acetabular or greater discrepancy has not been found to be associated Mobility, 7th Floor, 2635 Laurel trochanter width. Greater trochanter girth produced the with GTPS in people with primary GTPS10 or in St Robert H.N. Ho Research only anthropometric group difference (mean (95% CI) in people who develop GTPS post-total hip arthro- Centre Vancouver, BC, Canada cm) GTR=103.8 (100.3 to 107.3), GTPS=105.9 (100.2 20 V5Z 1M9 plasty. In addition, leg length discrepancy has [email protected] to 111.6), OA=100.3 (97.7 to 103.9), ASC=99.1 (94.7 been reported to be lower in those with GTPS 21 22 to 103.5), (ANOVA: p=0.036). Multivariate analysis than the population prevalence. The evidence on September 24, 2021 by guest. Protected copyright. Received 9 November 2011 confi rmed adiposity is associated with GTPS. of pelvic width as a risk factor is limited to level V Accepted 12 March 2012 Conclusion A lower neck shaft angle is a risk factor for, evidence,16 17 with the authors failing to differen- Published Online First and adiposity is associated with, GTPS in women. tiate between the pelvic, hip or greater trochanter 30 April 2012 width. As GTPS is more common in women, and women have wider pelves than men,23 the research question of whether a wider pelvis is an intrinsic INTRODUCTION risk factor for GTPS should be addressed. Greater trochanteric pain syndrome (GTPS) is Pathological compression of a tendon is thought thought to be a degenerative condition of the to contribute to the development of tendinopa- gluteal tendons and bursa1 2 for which few risk thy.24–26 The angle that the tendon approaches the factors have been identifi ed. Tendinopathies enthesis and the size of the bony pulley before the occur in both sporting and sedentary populations3 tendon insertion affects the strain and compres- indicating a multifactorial aetiology.4–6 These sion forces on the tendon. In the case of the glu- factors include intrinsic and extrinsic risk teus medius and minimus tendons, this angle is factors.5 Identifying risk factors for GTPS should in part determined by the neck shaft angle of the aid in understanding the aetiology of, and direct femur. In addition, greater hip width at the level treatment for, GTPS. of the greater trochanters would result in the glu- Intrinsic risk factors previously identifi ed for teal tendons wrapping over a greater proportion tendinopathies such as patellar and Achilles ten- of the greater trochanter, leading to an increased dinopathy include genetic and biomechanical area of compression.27 Therefore, the degree of factors.7 8 Intrinsic factors associated with GTPS coxa vara and the pelvic width at the level of the 1 of 6 Br J Sports Med 2012;46:888–892. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2011-090744 Original article Br J Sports Med: first published as 10.1136/bjsports-2011-090744 on 30 April 2012. Downloaded from greater trochanter may be a predisposing factor for developing GTPS.24–26 The aims of this study were to evaluate if the width of the pelvis or femoral neck shaft angle constituted independent risk factors, or if in combination of these constituted a risk fac- tor for developing GTPS. A further aim was to determine if increased adiposity and the distribution pattern of the adipos- ity was associated with GTPS. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS Participants Four groups of participants were recruited; those with GTPS, gluteal tendon reconstruction (GTR; surgical management of GTPS), hip osteoarthritis (OA) and an age and sex matched (to the GTPS group) control group (ASC). Participants were recruited through private healthcare providers and viva voce. All participants had to be older than 18 years of age and able to communicate in English. Participants were excluded if they Figure 1 Schematic illustration of the lines used to measure the had the following: systemic infl ammatory disease, for exam- width of the pelvis and greater trochanters, and the acetabular index. ple, rheumatoid arthritis; lumbar spine nerve root signs; a his- The midline was defi ned as the line perpendicular and bisecting the tory of lumbar spine or ipsilateral hip joint surgery; osteogenic line that joined to two tear drops. (A) The width from the midline to disease, for example, Paget’s disease, or neoplastic disease. the anterior inferior iliac spine – the reference width. (B) The width Due to sex-linked pelvic morphology, men were excluded from from the midline to the most lateral aspect of the acetabulum. (C) this study.23 The width from the midline to the most superior point of the greater trochanter. (D) The width from the midline to the most lateral aspect Hip OA participants were diagnosed according to Altman of the greater trochanter. 199128 and were scheduled for hip arthroplasty surgery. Diagnostic criteria for GTPS was a history of lateral hip pain,22 29 pain on palpation of the greater trochanter and at least one of taken from the midline – a perpendicular line that bisected lateral hip pain with lying on the ipsilateral side, weight bear- the distance between the distal border of the acetabular tear ing activities or sitting.29 30 In addition to the above criteria for drops (ML) to the anterior inferior iliac spine (AIIS) (A); to the GTPS, participants in the GTR group had evidence of tendon lateral rim of the acetabulum (B); to the most superior aspect tearing on MRI or ultrasound imaging, with symptoms refrac- of the greater trochanter (C); and to the most lateral aspect of tory to ultrasound-guided corticosteroid injection and physio- the greater trochanter (D) (fi gure 1). Ratio distances in relation therapy. Control participants had to be asymptomatic for hip to A were calculated for linear measures. The acetabular index joint and tendon pathology. Participants in the GTPS, GTR and was measured according to Sharp’s method31 (fi gure 1). The ASC groups had no evidence of hip OA.28 Participants in the femoral neck shaft angle was measured using a six-inch goni- http://bjsm.bmj.com/ ASC and OA groups had no past or current history of GTPS. ometer (http://www.physiosupplies.com.au 15 May 2011) on Clinical status was confi rmed by examination using the above the digital x-ray, aligning the goniometer arms along the shaft criteria (AF).