Inclination and Alsberg angle changes in hip degenerative arthritis

Aim: To compare the inclination and Alsberg angles of both hips in patients with unilateral coxarthrosis and healthy population. Methods: 89 patients who underwent total hip replacement due to end-stage unilateral idiopathic coxarthrosis between 2016 and 2019 in Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University Orthopedics and Traumatology Department and had preoperative pelvic anteroposterior radiographs were included in the study. A total of 87 patients with pelvic radiographs taken due to low back pain or minor trauma were included in the study as control group. Patients with bilateral end-stage coxarthrosis, any lower extremity fractures, secondary coxarthrosis caused by any reasons like Perthes disease, trauma, avascular necrosis, hematologic disease etc. and unsuitable radiographs were excluded from the study. Two researchers took the measurements separately and the averages were considered and the results were analyzed statistically. Results: Statistically significant differences were detected between the right side and the left side in terms of both Alsberg and hip inclination values in individuals of healthy control group. In patients with unilateral osteoarthritis, no significant differences were detected between right and left sides in terms of hip inclination values. Similarly, no significant difference was found between the right and left sides in terms of Alsberg values in patients with unilateral osteoarthritis. The Alsberg angle was found to be higher at statistically significant levels in patients with unilateral hip osteoarthritis, in both the osteoarthritis side and the contralateral hip, compared to the values in healthy individuals. Conclusion: When compared with healthy individuals, it was concluded that the Alsberg and inclination angles changed with the development of unilateral coxarthrosis. While significant differences were detected between the sides for Alsberg and inclination angle in healthy individuals, this difference between the sides was not observed in the coxarthrosis groups. With the development of unilateral coxarthrosis, it was concluded that the asymmetry between the right and left sides of healthy individuals disappeared and a more symmetrical structure emerged in terms of Alsberg and hip inclination angles.