Osteochondral defects are local areas of joint damage. They are different to arthritis as they are areas of cartilage softening rather than hardening. Imagine your bone is a chocolate malteaser! The chocolate surrounding the biscuit is the articular cartilage. If I small area of chocolate were to be removed the space left is called an osteochondral defect.

The defect in sever cases can expose the bone beneath. These injuries most often occur following single or multiple traumas to the involved joint. It is not the damage to the cartilage itself that causes the pain but the change in load and pressure on the bone beneath (subchondral bone). Pain occurs when loading the joint and it can become swollen and stiff. Treatment and management of these injuries will require guidance from an orthopaedic specialist and in severe cases may need surgical intervention.