Morphometric relationships between dimensions the anterior talofibular ligament and calcaneofibular ligament in routine magnetic resonance imaging

PURPOSE: This study aimed to test the hypothesis that routine MRI ankle can be used to evaluate dimensions and correlations between dimensions of single and double fascicular variants of the ATFL and the CFL. METHODS: We reviewed ankle MRIs for 251 patients. Differences between the length, thickness, width, and length of the bony attachments were evaluated twice. P < .05 was considered as significant. RESULTS: For the ATFL, we observed a negative correlation between thickness and width, with a positive correlation between thickness and length (p < 0.001). The average values for the ATFL were thickness, 2.2 ± 0.05 mm; length, 21.5 ± 0.5 mm; and width, 7.6 ± 0.6 mm. The average values for the CFL were thickness, 2.1 ± 0.04 mm; length, 27.5 ± 0.5 mm; and width, 5.6 ± 0.3 mm. A negative correlation was found between length and width for the CFL (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Routine MRI showed that most dimensions of the ATFL and CFL correlate with each other, which should be considered when planning new reconstruction techniques and developing a virtual biomechanical model of the human foot. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III