Does the scan explain your sore joint?

Does an osteochondral defect involve bone?

Yes. An osteochondral defect is one damaged spot involving both cartilage and the bone beneath it. Damage limited to cartilage stops before the bone. Either finding differs from wear spread across much of the joint. Ask the clinician to point out the spot on your scan. Then ask whether its place matches where you hurt and which movement brings the soreness.

The scan shows the damage; your exam tests whether it is the likely cause.

Which changes mean I need care soon?

A joint that locks, gives way, or won't straighten needs medical care. Seek prompt help after an injury if swelling starts fast or you can't bear weight. Fever with heat and swelling in the joint may mean infection, so get urgent care. Call quickly for new numbness, weakness, or calf swelling after an operation. These signs matter more than an old scan report.

Don't wait when the joint is changing fast.

What happens during the joint exam?

The clinician will ask when the soreness began and which movement starts it. The exam checks swelling, bending, strength, and the exact tender place. Bring your medicine list, scan report, and notes about lost sleep or walking limits. Until the visit, avoid any movement that causes sharp pain. Keep easy motion if the joint feels steady and the soreness doesn't rise.

QC Kinetix offers nonsurgical regenerative options, including PRP made from your spun blood and placed into the joint by Scottsdale clinicians.

Sources

1. A JBJS evidence-based review of chondral lesions of the knee sets management by lesion size, location, limb alignment and rotation, and patient demand rather than by product: osteochondral autograft transfer is described as durable and predictable for smaller lesions (under 2 cm2) in young active patients, while lesions of 2 cm2 or more are typically treated with osteochondral allograft transplantation, particulated juvenile articular cartilage, or matrix-associated chondrocyte implantation, with favourable mid- and long-term results reported for allograft or MACI in large lesions of 3 cm2 or more.

   Dekker TJ, et al. — Chondral Lesions of the Knee: An Evidence-Based Approach.. J Bone Joint Surg Am, 2021. DOI: 10.2106/JBJS.20.01161.

2. In a meta-analysis of 63 studies covering 5,397 knees of 4,751 adults with NO symptoms and no injury, the pooled prevalence of cartilage defects on MRI was 24% (95% CI 15% to 34%), rising from 11% in adults under 40 to 43% in adults aged 40 and over. Meniscal tears were present in 10%, bone marrow lesions in 18% and osteophytes in 25%.

   Culvenor AG, et al. — Prevalence of knee osteoarthritis features on magnetic resonance imaging in asymptomatic uninjured adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.. Br J Sports Med, 2019. DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2018-099257.

3. In a 19-year multicentre Norwegian follow-up of 322 patients (328 knees) with an arthroscopically verified focal cartilage lesion, mean age 36.8 at index surgery, those who had not needed arthroplasty or osteotomy reported significantly better pain, Lysholm and KOOS scores at final follow-up than before their index operation. By follow-up 17.7% had undergone later cartilage surgery, and nearly 50% met the study's treatment-failure definition, with BMI of 25 or more among the main risk factors.

   Birkenes T, et al. — Long-Term Outcomes of Arthroscopically Verified Focal Cartilage Lesions in the Knee: A 19-Year Multicenter Follow-up with Patient-Reported Outcomes.. J Bone Joint Surg Am, 2024. DOI: 10.2106/JBJS.23.00568.

4. A systematic review of 32 studies found that osteoarthritis develops in the long term in knees operated on for meniscal tears, with the amount of meniscus removed, duration of pre-operative symptoms and lateral meniscectomy showing the strongest statistical association with later osteoarthritis.

   Papalia R, et al. — Meniscectomy as a risk factor for knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review.. Br Med Bull, 2011. DOI: 10.1093/bmb/ldq043.

5. Among overweight and obese Osteoarthritis Initiative participants followed for 48 months, the amount of weight change was significantly associated with change in cartilage T2 in the medial tibia, and participants losing more than 10% of body weight showed significantly less progression of cartilage texture measures than weight-stable participants. Increasing medial tibial T2 tracked with increasing WOMAC pain and disability.

   Gersing AS, et al. — Progression of cartilage degeneration and clinical symptoms in obese and overweight individuals is dependent on the amount of weight loss: 48-month data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative.. Osteoarthritis Cartilage, 2016. DOI: 10.1016/j.joca.2016.01.984.