Merchant's view x-ray

[kneepaincure]

Hello all.. I had a merchant's view x-ray taken a few days ago, but no special table was used. I bent my knees and held up the lead board so that the x-ray could be taken..

Will such an x-ray be accurate in diagnosing the tilt of the kneecaps?

[kneepaincure]

Could someone please answer my query? Would be much appreciated..

[TwoBadKneesUSA]

IF the tech is proficient at doing them this way, it should be ok.  It may show tilt, but it will also so if the cartilage behind the kneecap is wearing down.

[kneepaincure]

Thank you .. well turns out a tilt is present but the OS said nothing about cartilage so I'm assuming it's in good condition since the tilt is a recent (and unfortunate) phenomenon..

[TwoBadKneesUSA]

Sometimes tilt can cause the cartilage to begin wearing away.  Has your OS given you a good reason for the tilt?

[kneepaincure]

My OS was not able to give me a reason but my sports doctor said that it is caused due to overload on the knees during a descent on a trek.. My full story is here if you would like to know: http://www.kneeguru.co.uk/KNEEtalk/index.php?topic=56593.0

And this is what my x-ray looks like.. I can't see any cartilage damage though.. It is of slightly poor quality since it's a scanned copy..

[TwoBadKneesUSA]

The joint space looks good, but I had lots of damage that did not show on x-ray because the other structures were so tight.  The tilt did not look that bad, but once they got it, it was quite a mess.

[kneepaincure]

I see.. How did you develop tilited kneecaps?

[TwoBadKneesUSA]

I hit a cinderblock while sledding...I was about 12.  It went downhill from there you could say.  The right got that way from the odd gait I developed.