Trying to find a definition of a medical term

Poststructural Pub
1

The orthopedist called today about my swollen knee and said I have “myo-osteochondritis” (I’m guessing on the spelling here). He said it’s mild, and that I would probably benefit from physical therapy.

The trouble is, I can’t find anything on-line about that particular condition. I can find that “myo” relates to muscles and that “osteo” relates to bone and that “chondritis” refers to inflamed cartilage (well, actually, I knew all those things already), but the only reference I find at all to “osteochondritis” is to something called “osteochondritis dissecans” (which, from what I’m seeing, seems to be most common among Labrador retrievers!).

Can anybody out there shed some light (or point me to a website?)? I’m not looking for medical advice here…just for a source of information so I can make some informed decisions.

Redwolf

2

Redwolf

Sorry, I don’t have any info for you but I do currently have two of these (one black and one yellow) at my house while my son is in Arizona attending a wedding. They’re a little larger than the picture. They have no info for you either.

3

Might it be myositis or, more likely, a form of myositis?

4

Red, I don’t know about the “myo” part, but here’s decent article on [u]Osteochondritis Dissecans of the Knee[/u].

Hope it helps.
John

5

It doesn’t sound like it.

A little background:

I’ve been having trouble for close to nine months with the muscles of my left leg going into spasm…not just nightime “charlie horse” leg cramps, but sudden, excruciating, knock-you-sideways with pain spasms if I step a certain way (walking downhill is especially difficult). My GP suspected that the muscles are actually trying to protect the knee joint (I do have some mild osteoarthritis in both my knees) and prescribed ibuprofen therapy, which helped immensely. I also started an exercise program (relatively gentle circuit training) in an attempt to lose some weight (again, to take some of the stress off my knees). The exercise really seemed to help, and after a few weeks of regular training I was able to go off the ibuprofen entirely.

All of a sudden, about two months ago, my left knee started to swell badly. There was no sudden, traumatic, injury…I was just sitting in the choir loft at church when it began to ache and, by morning, there was so much fluid in the knee that I couldn’t bend it. I went to my GP again, who suspected a cartilage tear and referred me to an orthopedic surgeon. The ortho X-rayed the knee (which didn’t show much other than to confirm that I have some arthritis in the knee, which I already knew), and then suggested resting the leg for about three weeks to see if the swelling would go down on its own before taking any more drastic steps. At the end of that time, there was still a significant amount of fluid around the joint, so we took the next step, which was an MRI of the joint. This “whatever it is” is what the MRI apparently revealed. It’s not something that can be approached surgically, which is why they’re now recommending PT.

At this point in time the swelling around the joint is gone, but I’m back to square one with the leg spasming. To make matters worse, my other knee is starting to ache…probably because I’m overusing it in favoring my left leg. I’d LOVE to get back to working out, but I’m afraid if I do that, even if I start cautiously again (as I did before) I’ll just aggravate the problem. The doctor recommended swimming as an alternative, but I can’t swim (and, frankly, can’t stand being in the water, unless it’s a hot bath), so that’s out.

I’m one of those people who really likes to know what’s going on with my body, and I’d love to do some research on this, but I’m coming up dry. Besides, it’s very frustrating when you’re only 44 and you move like an 80 year old!

Redwolf

6

I’ve actually found several articles on that particular condition (though this is one of the few that talks about it in humans!), but it doesn’t seem likely that it’s what he’s talking about, as he specifically mentioned that there’s no surgical solution, and surgery definitely seems indicated for adult OCD patients according to what I’ve found on-line.

Redwolf

7

I got a few hits for myochondritis but not much. As far as I can tell, the phrase you mentioned just means inflamation of the bone and muscle or something very close to that. From what you describe it probably means muscle inflamation caused by a bone-related problem. Sorry, that’s the best I can do tonight with the help of a medical dictionary and some googling.

8

Hi Redwolf, have you seen these pages.

Google search: osteochondritis knee:

http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=+osteochondritis+knee&btnG=Search&meta=

Some hits:

http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1996/06_96/ralston.htm

http://www.allaboutmydoc.com/surgeonweb/surgeonId.2729/clinicId.1432/theme.theme3/country.US/language.en/page.article/docId.31156

http://www.kneeandshoulder.md/osteo_01.html

MarkB

9

Thanks…but those are all for OCD as well, which is all I was finding. Since this is a late-onset thing, and he specifically said there’s no surgical approach to treating it, I don’t think that’s what he was talking about.

I may just try calling him again, but it’s such a major pain getting through (and then getting anyone to call me back)…I was really hoping I could find some info on my own.

Redwolf

10

Definitions from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/mplusdictionary.html

Main Entry: my-
Variant(s): or myo-
Function: combining form
1 a : muscle b : muscular and
2 : myoma and

Main Entry: os·teo·chon·dri·tis
Pronunciation: -kän-drt-s
Function: noun
: inflammation of bone and cartilage

Good thing I hadn’t deleted all my helpful sites from my 3 years of hell as a medical transcriptionist!

11

Redwolf, I think you’ll just have to call him and tell him you can’t find the term on the Internet and ask him what other name it goes by, how to spell it, etc. It should be coming up for someone but it isn’t, so it must have a more commonly used name or something’s been misunderstood or who knows what. I too would want to know what was going on but you have to know exactly what the doctor means or you’ll be wasting your time. He might be able to tell the nurse what to tell you so they can call you back more quickly. I would call every day at least once until I got an answer. If they don’t think it’s a problem, I would go see another doctor. They have to send your records so you wouldn’t have to do your tests over again.

12

Red,

Do you have your receipt from that visit? A thing with a lot of check-boxes on it, disease names and numbers? Or a printed computer sheet? Or something to include with your insurance claim?

If you’ll PM, or answer here, and tell me what you see on that sheet – what numbers, too – I can probably tell you what you have.

Do you think he may have said “mild osteochondritis” or “mild osteoarthritis?” I think that may be more likely.

You can call the office and have them tell you exactly what is in your records. Make them spell it for you, not that that will be any guarantee.

Didn’t he give you any patient information? A handout? Something?


Here’s a useful reference:

http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmanual/section5/chapter52/52a.jsp

There is a similar book in lay language. The link is on the main Merck webpage at www.merck.com .

13

It was definitely osteochondritis, not osteoarthritis. It’s possible he said “mild.” I guess I’ll just have to call again. I HATE calling these people…it’s like pulling teeth to get any information from them at all.

What’s puzzling me is nothing I’m seeing on-line about osteochondritis “dissecans” (the latter not being a word the doctor used) suggests that PT would be of any value. It seems to be normally linked to a traumatic injury (I’ve never had a traumatic injury to that knee) and most common in young people. From what I’m reading, rest is indicated for young people with this condition, and surgery for older people.

No, I don’t have anything from the doctor. I finally called his office because it’s been a couple of weeks since my MRI and no one got in touch with me (such is the state of medicine here…my daughter had an EEG six weeks ago, and you should have seen the hoops I had to jump through to get the results of that!). This is a PPO, and they bill my insurance directly, so I never have any kind of receipt other than for my co-pay (and that never says anything on it but the date and what I paid).

Thanks anyway, guys.

Redwolf

14

Just request a copy of your records. Every time you go there, request a copy of the current visit. They’ll have to provide it, but you may have to go back and pick it up in a week after it has been transcribed. For the reason, cite “continuity of care,” as that reason will normally not incur a charge for the copy.

Be assertive in your request for information. Make them write it down. Your doctor is obligated to tell you what you have and explain it, explain the plan of care, and explain what you should expect later. Complain to the PPO if he does not; they will care.

Don’t let physicians snow you.

Are you going to physical therapy? The PT will know what your diagnosis is.

15

I don’t know. I have no idea whether it’s covered under my insurance, and I’m honestly not convinced it will help. If it is covered, and the therapist is someone here, possibly, but I’m not driving to San Jose for it, that’s for sure.

Redwolf

16

What follows is not professional advice of course, but you really must find out what the common name for the condition is since the one you gave us is just a description of the immediate cause of your symptoms and gives no hint about underlies it.

I would suspect that some form of hydrotherapy would be possible and much of that you can safely do by yourself if you have access to a warm pool. I had a prolapsed disc in my back due to osteoarthritis which led to symptoms and muscular inflamation not unlike what you describe and hydrotherapy before my operation was of immense value—enough to get me off steroidal drugs almost immediately but not enough to make me cancel the operation.

17

Call the doctor and ask for a clearer diagnosis. You have the right to understand what you were told. Don’t speak to a nurse - speak to the doctor directly. I work in a doctor’s office and can tell you a patient should never have to go online to ask for an explanation of their diagnosis. Get it straight from him/her.

Susan

18

duplicate post deleted

19

Regardless of the underlying condition, any situation that triggers muscle spasm may be helped by supplementary magnesium, which a great many people have benefited from, in my experience (director of patient education in a holistally oriented medical practice).

Magnesium is necessary for muscles to relax (and calcium is necessary for muscles to contract). In many different situations where there’s some muscle irritability, anything from old injuries to arrhythmias after heart surgery (which was the case after Arleen’s surgery), getting enough magnesium into the system to reduce the muscular irritability can sometimes make a big difference.

Different people tolerate different amounts of magnesium, since it can have a laxative effect. I take 1000 mg per day; Arleen takes 250 mg per day, and most people find they can take some amount within that range.

Edited to add: “A higher intake of magnesium from food and supplements may keep your bones healthy as you age.” Coincidentally, this was the headline of Betty Kamen’s “Table Talk Nutrition Hint” email for today.

Hint 2013: A higher intake of magnesium from food and supplements may keep your bones healthy as you age
Greater magnesium intake is significantly related to higher bone mineral density in white men and women. In fact, there is an approximate 2 percent increase in whole-body bone mineral density for every 100 milligram per day increase in magnesium.

Osteoporotic fractures are a significant health problem in aging adults. Magnesium is a “lesser-studied” component of bone that may play a role in calcium metabolism and bone strength.

Fewer than 26 percent of people even meet the RDA for magnesium.

… .

Source: > Journal of the American Geriatrics Society> , Nov 2005.

http://www.bettykamen.com/hints/2013.htm

Of course, a nutritional adjustment like increasing magnesium is an adjunct, not a replacement for regular medical treatment.

Best wishes,
Jerry