Information about the carrying angle and its variations are important in the management of paediatric elbow injuries. We measured the carrying angle using bony landmarks for 300 rural South Indian children aged 5-18 years. The study confirms that the clinical carrying angle correlates best with age up to 15 years, following which there was a slight decrease in the angles. The rate of increase of the carrying angle for boys and girls is 0.42 and 0.60 degrees per year respectively. Sex differences seem to gradually increase with a maximum being around puberty. The carrying angle is greater in girls than in boys by a mean of 1.31 degrees. The carrying angle did not correlate well with height, weight, humeral length or ulnar length. The reproducibility of measuring the carrying angle by the simple technique used in our study leads us to propose that this may be used in actual clinical practice.

ObjectivesThe development of tibiofemoral angle in children has shown ethnic variations. However this data is unavailable for our population.MethodsWe measured the tibiofemoral angle (TFA) and intercondylar and intermalleolar distances in 360 children aged between two and 18 years, dividing them into six interrupted age group intervals: two to three years; five to six years; eight to nine years; 11 to 12 years; 14 to 15 years; and 17 to 18 years. Each age group comprised 30 boys and 30 girls. Other variables recorded included standing height, sitting height, weight, thigh length, leg length and length of the lower limb.ResultsChildren aged two to three years had a valgus angulation with a mean TFA of 1.8° (sd 0.65) in boys and 2.45° (sd 0.87) in girls. Peak valgus was seen in the five- to six-year age group, with mean TFAs of 6.7° (sd 1.3) and 7.25° (sd 0.64) for boys and girls, respectively. From this age the values gradually declined to a mean of 3.18° (sd 1.74) and 4.43° (sd 0.68) for boys and girls, respectively, at 17 to 18 years. Girls showed a higher valgus angulation than boys at all age groups.ConclusionThis study defines the normal range of the TFA in south Indian boys and girls using an easy and reliable technique of measurement with a standardised custom-made goniometer.Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2013;2:155–61.

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