What is a subcortical fracture?
A subchondral fracture is a fracture of the trabecular cancellous bone just beneath the subchondral bone plate without disruption of the articular surface 1.
What is a subchondral fracture of the shoulder?
Subchondral insufficiency fracture refers to a type of stress fracture that occurs below the chondral surface on a weight-bearing surface of a bone due to mechanic failure of subchondral cancellous bone.
How serious is a subchondral fracture?
Subchondral insufficiency fractures are slowly healing fractures of the bone situated immediately below the cartilage of a joint. The prognosis may range from full recovery to rapidly escalating joint destruction.
How long does it take for a subchondral fracture to heal?
Traditionally, conservative therapy is continued for 3 months, but it has been demonstrated that in reversible cases of subchondral fracture, bone marrow edema required an average of 5 months to resolve,7 so a longer period of conservative treatment and observation may be preferable.
What causes subchondral fractures?
Subchondral insufficiency fractures (SIF) are a type of stress fracture which occurs below the cartilage on the weight bearing surface of a bone. SIF occur when normal physiological forces are repeatedly applied to an area of bone compromised by non-tumorous disease, resulting in fracture.
What causes subchondral fracture?
What is a subchondral fracture of the clavicle?
A distal clavicular subchondral fracture is a common finding in patients with imaging evidence of distal clavicular osteolysis. These subchondral fractures may be responsible for the propensity of findings occurring on the clavicular side of the acromioclavicular joint.
What does subchondral mean?
“Subchondral bone” is bone that sits underneath cartilage in a joint. Subchondral bone is found in large joints like the knees and hips, as well as in small joints like those of the hands and feet. “Sclerosis” refers to an unusual increase in the density or hardness of a tissue in the body.
How are subchondral insufficiency fractures treated?
Subchondral insufficiency fracture of the femoral head (SIFFH) is characterized by acute onset hip pain without overt trauma. It appears as a low intensity band with bone marrow edema on T1-weighted MRI. The most common course of treatment is protected weight bearing for a period of several weeks.
What is subchondral bone damage?
Subchondral bone supports overlying articular cartilage and distributes mechanical loads across joint surfaces with a gradual transition in stress and strain. Stiffened and less pliable subchondral bone could transmit increased loads to overlying cartilage, leading to secondary cartilage damage and degeneration [11].
Where is subchondral bone located?
Anatomy and physiology of subchondral bone The subchondral bone is located deep to the articular cartilage, but remains connected to it through a layer of calcified cartilage.