Association between the distal tibiofibular syndesmosis types and ankle osteoarthritis in Chinese population: a retrospective study

Abstract Background Osteoarthritis is closely related to the structure and stability of the ankle complex. The study was designed to determine the association between the distal tibiofibular syndesmosis (DTS) types and ankle structural abnormalities in the Chinese population. Methods A total of 147 participants were included. To assess the DTS types configurations and related parameters by magnetic resonance image (MRI). Joint space narrowing and osteophytes were measured using the ankle radiographic. Rank sun tests and binary Logistic regression were made to analyze the relationship between the syndesmosis configurations and the structural abnormality of the ankle. Results Five morphologic categories of the DTS, including chevron (19.6%), window’s peak (16.2%), flat (22.3%), trapezoid (32.0%), crescent (19.6%) were shown. The DTS types are not associated with Joint space narrowing osteophytes, tibiotalar surface angle (TT), or tibial lateral surface angle (TLS). however, there are statistical differences between different types of syndesmosis and tibial angle surface angle (TAS), and talar tilt angle (TTA). Conclusions The DTS classifications are associated with ankle structural changes in some ways. The statistical differences between types and TAS, and TTA needs to be explored in future studies.