[How to make a radiographic evaluation of the degenerative knee?]

EVALUATION AND PROGRESSION OF JOINT DEGENERATION: Progressive destruction of the joint cartilage, seen as joint space narrowing on standard x-rays, is one of the key features indicative of the severity of joint degeneration. Quantitative measurements of space narrowing in the knee joint provide complementary information. Analysis techniques using fluoroscopic and standard views have been developed. REPRODUCIBILITY: The coefficients of variation of the different techniques used to measure joint space demonstrate their relative reliability. When studying disease progression over time, for example during longitudinal studies, coefficients of variation have however been very wide. X-RAY QUALITY: The pertinence of the radiographic exploration requires obtaining high quality X-rays of the knees, a rather difficult task.