Elbow joint contact study: comparison of techniques.

Elucidation of the contact areas between joint surfaces is important to both prosthetic design and the understanding of degeneration of articular cartilage. Numerous experimental methods are available to study joint contact, including cartilage staining, joint space casting, and pressure sensitive film techniques. This study attempts to compare the ability of each experimental technique to determine elbow joint contact. The silicone casting technique appears to be the best method to study joint contact area. The effects of magnitude and orientation of applied forces on the elbow joint contact patterns are studied.