Measurement of Tibial Torsion in Adult by Computerized Tomography

Tibial torsion is a term used to describe the physiologic twist of the distal relative to the proximal articular axis of the tibial bone in the transverse plane around its longitudinal axis. This study focuses on a method of tibial torsion measurement with computerized tomography cuts. Sixty four volunteers aged over 16 years old had CT imaging of proximal and distal tibia in a teaching hospital in Tehran-Iran. The images were evaluated for leg rotation by four physicians using two different techniques in two different occasions، one month apart. In the first technique the middle of tibia and middle of fibula were used as reference points and in the second method the perpendicular axis to the line connecting the distal fibular notches on CT scans was used. The values were analyzed، and the intra and inter observer agreements for tibia torsions were assessed. The inter-observer agreement in tibial torsion was. 861 and. 863 in the first and second methods respectively. The intra-observer reliability in both measurements techniques were. 868. The two techniques also had excellent agreement in tibial torsion measurements. The second technique has high reliability and reproductivity in assessing tibial rotation in fibula deformity.