Define Bone Marrow Edema & Chondromalacia

Bone marrow edema and chondromalacia are conditions that affect the knee joint. Bone marrow edema can affect other large joints in the body such as the ankle and the hip, and commonly shows up on an MRI scan after stress or an injury. Chondromalacia is typically a disorder that affects the kneecap, causing severe pain.

• Knee joint conditions

What Is Bone Marrow Edema?

• Bone marrow edema is an inflammation of the larger joints of the body. It typically affects the hip, knee and ankle joints. In the knee, the tissues become filled with fluid and irritated. In many instances, athletes who undergo significant stress to their joints can succumb to bone marrow edema. As the bone marrow degenerates over time, in some cases edema it is the first indicator of progressing osteoarthritis, a degenerative type of arthritis that gets worse over time.

Symptoms of Bone Marrow Edema

• Symptoms of bone marrow edema consist of pain in the knee with and without activity. Pain in the knee at rest is an indicator that there could be a structural problem within the knee joint. Other symptoms include a limited range of motion in the knee along with bone pain and tenderness. Athletes who have sudden, unrelenting pain in their knees could have bone marrow edema that can lead to osteoarthritis later in life.

Treatment of Bone Marrow Edema

• Once bone marrow edema is identified under MRI imaging, it is usually easily managed with rest of the joint through a combination of anti-inflammatories and pain medicines. These more conservative treatments can sometimes fail, at which point you must resort to surgery.

What is Chondromalacia?

• Chondromalacia is a condition that affects the kneecap, usually in young athletes. Others develop the condition when the kneecap becomes irritated from rubbing against one side of the knee joint. The cartilage surrounding the knee in turn becomes irritated, causing much pain. Chondromalacia is more prevalent in women than in men simply because of differences in the female anatomy. Women on average suffer more lateral damage to their knees over time.

Symptoms of Chondromalacia

• Symptoms of chondromalacia include pain, swelling and irritation. The knee joint becomes inflamed and motion of the knee can be severely limited. It is very important to note that knee pain that does not go away within a reasonable amount of time, especially without a specific injury, should be examined as soon as possible so that the extent of the damage can be minimized.

Treatment of Chondromalacia

• Treatment of chondromalacia includes resting the joint and participating in a physical therapy program. Alnti-inflammatory medications can help. Avoid stressful activities that cause the knee pain; it will help calm down the irritation. Physical therapy strengthens the quadricep and hamstring muscles, which can help resolve the problem. In some cases, after a look at the extent of the damage to the knee structures under an arthroscope, your doctor may advise surgery.