Syndesmomyolysis in early osteoarthrosis of the knee

The authors present a new operative procedure for the early stages of osteoarthrosis of the knee associated with varus or valgus axial deviations. This is based on biomechanical considerations related to the articular equilibrium of the knee, and on pathogenetic interpretations of arthrotic disease in this particular joint. After reviewing the capsular, muscular and ligamentous systems of the medial and lateral compartments of the knee, they consider the active forces capable of opposing the eccentric thrusts of load and gravity in disequilibrium due to axial deviation. Clinical investigations have been carried out which reveal that under these pathological conditions, cicatricial retraction occurs on the concave side and stretching on the convex side of the axial deviation. For the former they have devised the operation of "syndesmomyolysis", which must be preceded by preoperative muscular reinforcement on the convex side. The objective of this procedure is to restore the equilibrium of the forces acting on the articular axis.