Loose Bodies & Soft Tissue Damage

What’s the best way to treat loose fragments or soft tissue damage in the knee? Alex Dodds, knee surgeon for Gloucester, the Cotswolds and Cheltenham explains.

What are loose bodies in the knee?

Your knee is a complex joint, comprising bone, tendons, ligaments, fluid and articular cartilage – a substance which coats the bones in the knee enabling them to glide smoothly.

Sometimes, either as a result of injury (e.g. a car accident, a fall or a crunching tackle or sudden twist in sport) or as a result of the gradual breakdown of the cartilage due to wear and tear (osteoarthritis), small pieces of cartilage and bone break off the main joint.

These pieces may remain attached to bone or cartilage, or they may detach completely and float free in the fluid of the knee joint.

These are loose bodies.

What are the symptoms of loose bodies in the knee?

Patients that visit Alex’s Gloucestershire knee clinic with loose bodies in the knee may complain of:

  • Pain or swelling in the knee
  • A locking or catching sensation in the knee, often caused by the loose fragment floating into the knee mechanism
  • A feeling of something moving in the joint
  • A clicking or crunching sound (crepitus), which may (but does not always) indicate loose bodies

What is a soft tissue injury of the knee?

There are many soft tissues within the knee, including the tendons, ligaments, muscles and the menisci, the cartilage ‘shock absorber pads’ which are attached to the shinbone.

We explore serious ACL and other ligament ruptures, meniscal tears and other soft tissue injuries here, but often soft tissue injuries aren’t especially serious. With self-treatment and/or physiotherapy, minor injuries can often heal on their own.

Sometimes, like the loose bodies explored above, it’s possible for tissue tears to get caught in the mechanism of the knee. In these circumstances, you may need to seek specialist help from your Gloucestershire knee consultant.

Do all loose bodies in the knee require surgery?

They often do, because it’s important not to leave fragments free to float within the knee joint as they can, over time, cause further damage to the cartilage and this can increase the risk of osteoarthritis.

>   Read more about knee osteoarthritis

How do you diagnose and treat loose knee fragments and soft tissue tears?

Visit Alex’s knee clinic for Cheltenham and Gloucester and he will carry out a physical examination. He may also use an X-ray and MRI scan to identify any loose fragments of bone (X-ray) or tissue (MRI).

Where loose fragments or tissue damage are identified, Alex may treat the condition using knee arthroscopy.

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Appointments

To make an appointment please either fill in the contact form and you will be called back by our secretary to arrange a convenient appointment time or get in touch directly.

Call Chrissie Holmyard 01242 246549 at Nuffield Health, Cheltenham.