Symptoms of knee osteochondritis

The knees are a very fragile part of the human body. There must be no problems with the knees. Once problems occur, the consequences will be disastrous. Therefore, everyone should protect their knees. Some people suffer from inflammation due to frequent wear and tear of the knees, which causes local swelling and pain, and even causes edema of a large amount of soft tissue that will continue to spread and cause dull pain. In severe cases, it may also cause fluid. Special attention should be paid to the harmfulness of chondritis, and appropriate treatment methods should be chosen according to the symptoms.

Introduction

Chondritis generally occurs in the costal cartilage, which is called costochondritis. It is a non-inflammatory swelling and pain at the junction of the costal cartilage and the ribs. It is generally caused by viral infection and other factors or is believed to be related to injury. A large number of clinical practices have confirmed that costochondritis is caused by the forward transmission of damaging pain in the soft tissue beside the thoracic spinous process (especially the multifidus and rotator muscles attached to the small joints and spinous processes) or the three muscles soft tissue on the back of the scapula.

The onset may be acute or slow. Acute cases may occur suddenly, with a feeling of stabbing, throbbing or soreness in the chest; insidious cases may develop slowly, causing the junction of the ribs and costal cartilage to become arched, swollen, and dull pain, sometimes radiating to the shoulders, back, armpits, neck and chest, and sometimes chest tightness and shortness of breath. The pain is relieved by resting or lying on the side, but worsens with deep breathing, coughing, lying flat, chest straightening and fatigue. No obvious abnormalities were found in X-rays, and there is generally no obvious clinical classification.

Causes

Cartilage itself has no blood vessels, and its blood supply mainly comes from the perichondrium. After the perichondrium is infected, the cartilage necrotizes due to lack of blood supply, causing the infection to persist and penetrate the skin to form sinuses.

Infectious costochondritis is caused by infection of the costal perichondrium, leading to ischemic necrosis of the cartilage and is associated with insensitivity to antibiotics. Due to the anatomical characteristics, the 1st to 4th costal cartilages exist independently and generally do not spread to the adjacent costal cartilages after infection. However, the 5th to 10th costal cartilages are connected to each other and to the opposite side through the xiphoid process of the sternum. After infection, inflammation can spread to each other, affecting multiple costal cartilages on the same side, and can spread to the opposite side through the xiphoid process, expanding the scope of infection. Pus and granulation tissue form around the infected costal cartilage. The surface of the ischemic and necrotic costal cartilage is not smooth and has a worm-eaten appearance. Some become thinner and rat-tail-like, while others can be completely absorbed.

Infectious costochondritis is mostly secondary, and currently the most common type of costochondritis is caused by infection after thoracic surgery. The pathogens are mainly pyogenic bacteria. This requires emphasis on prevention, strict aseptic operation, and trying to avoid or reduce damage to the costal perichondrium to reduce its occurrence.

Overview

Clinical manifestations of chondritis: It is common in women aged 20 to 30, with a male to female ratio of 1:9. The lesions are mostly located at the 2nd to 5th costal cartilages on the chest, with the 2nd and 3rd costal cartilages being the most common. It can also invade the manubrium of the sternum, the inner side of the clavicle and multiple costal cartilages on the anterior chest. The affected costal cartilages will feel dull or sharp pain, tenderness and swelling. The pain will worsen with deep inhalation, coughing or movement of the affected upper limb, and sometimes radiate to the shoulder or back, and even make it impossible to raise the arm, but there is no change in the local skin. The pain varies in severity and often lingers, affecting the patient's work and study. After the pain disappears, the swollen costal cartilage may even last for months or years.

Chondritis is related to viral infection, and is prone to occur in the climate change seasons between winter and spring or autumn and winter. Many patients have suffered upper respiratory tract infections within 1 week of onset. Some patients' onset is also related to the use of upper limbs, friction and injury to the costochondral joint cartilage or the ligaments within the costochondral joint, which often occurs after moving or lifting heavy objects. Some patients' costochondria are related to cold and poor blood flow, and the disease occurs after the chest and shoulders are exposed to cold.