These symptoms are fairly common in athletes. In the world of childhood knee injuries and complaints, there are few mysteries that still persist. You could have knee swelling without much pain at all. See osteochondritis dissecans article for a general discussion. During that time, it is crucial to stop doing everything that causes pain to the knee. If you have surgery, Dr. Kiritsis may have you use a continuous passive motion (CPM) machine after surgery to help the knee begin to move and to alleviate joint stiffness. Dr. Kiritsis will have you work with a physical therapist for four to six to twelve weeks. Dr. Kiritsis is careful to take the graft from a spot that won’t cause a lot of problems, usually on the top and outside border of the knee cartilage. Your therapist may issue shock-absorbing shoe insoles to reduce impact and protect your knee joint. The condition can be mild, moderate, or severe. Even in JOCD, surgery may eventually be required. With this machine, we are able to create pictures that look like slices of the knee and see the anatomy, and any injuries, very clearly. How does Dr. Kiritsis treat the condition? Related Document: A Patient’s Guide to Articular Cartilage Problems of the Knee. Some patients who are too near the end of bone growth may not benefit with nonsurgical treatment. In the child who is still growing, the problem is much more likely to heal itself. A heavy schedule of training and competing can stress the femur in a way that leads to JOCD. If I have an OCD of my knee, what is the chance that I will have an OCD of another joint? OCD lesions may occur in any joint, but are most common in the knee. Surgery is usually the only effective treatment for OCD. The MRI findings and child age play a large factor in prognosis. It is based on a systematic review of published studies on the diagnosis and treatment of osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) of the knee. The younger the patient and the smaller more stable appearing the OCD, the better the outcome and prognosis to heal. The MRI will tell us the true size of the lesion, location of the lesion, and demonstrate evidence of potential looseness. In this case, Dr. Kiritsis grafts a small amount of bone (osteo) and cartilage (chondral) from the donor site to put into the lesion. Osteochondritis dissecans ( OCD ) can occur in different joints, including the … The leading thought as to why knee OCD happens relates to the thin layer of growth cartilage that caps the end of long bones, such as the femur or thigh bone. As the condition becomes worse, the area of bone that is affected may collapse, causing a notch to form in the smooth joint surface. The aforementioned 2012 study in The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery assessed the clinical outcomes of these five different surgical techniques in patients affected by OCD of the knee… Even with surgery, OCD usually leads to future joint problems, including degenerative arthritis and osteoarthritis. You will also be shown strengthening exercises for the hip and knee to help steady the knee and give it additional protection from shock and stress. In this case, bone material is transplanted into the hole left in the bone. The exercises should be done carefully and should not cause any pain. The cases of OCD that are first diagnosed in early adulthood probably began as JOCD. Dr. Kiritsis may also use an arthroscope, a tiny camera inserted into the knee to look at your knee before doing surgery to fix the problem. The guideline provides practice recommendations and highlights gaps in the literature and areas that require future research. 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