Subchondral bone changes in hand and knee osteoarthritis detected by radiography

AbstractObjective: To describe the changes in subchondral bone that occur with the onset and progression of osteoarthritis (OA) from macroradiographic assessment of patient’s hand and knee joints.Design: The high magnification and spatial resolution of macroradiography permits detailed anatomical changes to be detected in OA joints. Data on the subchondral cortical and cancellous bone, recorded from both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of hand and knee OA, are described and discussed with reference to recent findings on the altered biomechanical properties of OA bone.Results: In OA joints, both subchondral cortical plate and subjacent horizontal trabeculae increase in thickness early, prior to joint space narrowing (JSN). With progression, cortical plate sclerosis increased in 60% of OA hands and did not change in knee OA until JSN