Bone contusions

With the advent of MRI, we now have a new category of bone injury called a bone contusion (also called bone swelling). Is a bone contusion really a fracture? I think so, but thus far, we don’t really have the vocabulary in the literature to call a bone contusion a fracture. Let me explain…

A contusion is a term usually applied to soft tissue injuries that involve numerous structures. A contusion may involve nerve, subcutaneous tissue, tendon, etc. When we use the term contusion and refer to a bone injury, we’re describing a crush injury to the bone. Bone is usually made of a hard, outer surface with a softer, spongy inner surface. That softer, spongy surface acts as a shock absorber, absorbing load. But with a contusion, the hard, outer bone and the softer inner bone is crushed.

This is a hard injury for the bone to heal. And often, a hard choice for surgeons to try to rebuild. We drill it, graft it. But in most cases, the idea is to restore the bone to its normal load-bearing structure.

So is a bone contusion really a fracture? I think so. Any thoughts?

Jeff

Jeffrey A. Oster, DPM
Medical Advisor
Myfootshop.com

Updated 12/27/19