Edema de la médula ósea de la rodilla / Bone marrow edema of knee

ABSTRACT

Bone marrow edema (BME) or transient bone marrow edema syndrome (TMES) affects the joints, particularly thehip and less frequently the knee and ankle. Knee problemsare usually related to traumatic causes, nevertheless, this can also be caused by micro traumatisms brought on bydaily life or overload. Diagnosis is confirmed by usingnuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), since both x-rays andcomputer assisted tomographies (CAT) are unsupportive,and scintigraph, though sensitive, is none specific. It isdescribed as the cause of pain in osteoarthritis and canalso be observed in transitory osteoporosis, in migratoryregional osteoporosis, and in the first stage of avascularbone necrosis (ABN), which is its main differential diagnosis. We present three cases of patients with knee pain, with no history of contusion. Two cases presented minor signs of osteoarthritis, two presented a decrease in bone density, and one presented hyperlaxity. NMRs were required, since normal procedures led to no results, and showed the existence of BME. Treatment was conservative, specially oriented towards unloading the joints, with a favorable evolution prior to six months.