Open Access, Peer-reviewed, Quarterly
pISSN 1225-1682
eISSN 2287-9293
    J Korean Fract Soc. 2011 Jan;24(1):28-32. Korean.
    Published online Jan 19, 2011.
    https://doi.org/10.12671/jkfs.2011.24.1.28
    Copyright © 2011 The Korean Fracture Society
    Original Article

    Anterior Knee Pain after Intramedullary Nailing for Tibial Shaft Fractures

    Suk-Kyu Choo, M.D., Hyoung-Keun Oh, M.D., Hyun-Woo Choi, M.D. and Jae-Gwang Song, M.D.
      • Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Ilsan Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Goyang, Korea.
    • Address reprint requests to: Hyoung-Keun Oh, M.D. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Ilsan Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, 2240, Daehwa-dong, Ilsanseo-gu, Goyang 411-706, Korea. Tel: 82-31-910-7968·Fax: 82-31-910-7967, Email: osd11@paik.ac.kr
    Received April 26, 2010; Revised June 29, 2010; Accepted October 20, 2010.

    This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

    Abstract

    Purpose

    To analyze the possible causes and incidence of the chronic anterior knee pain follow after closed intramedullary nailing for the tibial shaft fractures, in a retrospective aspect.

    Materials and Methods

    52 patients who treated with intramedullary nailing for the tibial shaft fractures from January 2001 to October 2008 were reviewed. We analyzed the relationship between knee pain and the variables (sex, age, types of fracture, protrusion extent of intramedullary nailing on proximal tibia). The aspects of pain, its onset and relieving time, and how much it influences on daily living were analyzed retrospectively. For categorical variables, group variences were estimated using Chi-square test.

    Results

    34 patients of 52 (65%) complaint of anterior knee pain followed after intramedullary nailing, and there were no statistical differences between pain and sex/age (p>0.05). Incidence of anterior knee pain becomes higher as the severity of fracture increases, but there was no statistical difference between pain and intramedullary nailing protrusion. Pain severity was mostly not influencing on daily living, and it mostly responded to conservative treatment.

    Conclusion

    The incidence of anterior knee pain followed after intramedullary nailing was 65%, and its severity was mostly not influencing on daily living. There were no significant differences between pain and sex, age, protrusion extent of intramedullary nailing on proximal tibia, but as the severity of frature increases, the incidence of anterior knee pain became higher.

    Keywords
    Tibial shaft fracture; Intramedullary nailing; Anterior knee pain

    Figures

    Fig. 1
    This photograph shows IM nail protrusion over anterior tibial cortex.

    Tables

    Table 1
    Characters of patients

    References

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    MeSH Terms
    Fracture Fixation, Intramedullary
    Humans
    Incidence
    Knee
    Retrospective Studies
    Tibia
    Metrics
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