The word 'mal' means 'bad' or 'poor'. 'Malalignment' implies that the relationship or geometry of one bone in relation to its neighbouring bone is outside of what one might consider normal.
The patella is ideally suited for imaging, and when it comes to detecting malalignment the doctor will usually start with plain x-rays.
Here the standard of care would be to obtain four X-rays. These would include the so-called AP (front-to-back), the side view (otherwise known as the...
This is the editor's interpretation of a paper published in 2002, in which the authors stress that no 'corrective' surgery for patellofemoral malalignment should be undertaken on the basis of the imaging findings alone.