Trabecular patterns of the calcaneum as an index of osteoporosis. A comparison using gamma-absorptiometry.

Measurements of bone mineral content in the calcaneum were made by gamma-absorptiometry in 77 patients with ankle fractures treated by operation, and compared with the calcaneal osteoporosis index. The index was calculated from plain lateral radiographs of the calcaneum. The bone mineral measurements showed a wide range, but there was only a narrow range of the index with exclusively high values. There was a weak correlation between the calcaneal index and the bone mineral content in the injured ankles, but no or only a very poor correlation in the uninjured ankles. We also found no correlation between the decline in index and loss of mineral content in the injured ankles.