Knee - Loose Bodies/Spurs

Loose bodies are fragments of cartilage or bone that freely float inside the knee joint space.  They can be the result of an injury or from generalized wear and tear over time.  Depending on the severity of the condition, there can be one or many loose bodies inside the joint.  They can be stable (they don’t move about inside the joint) or unstable (they float through the inside of the joint) which can cause pain or loss of motion.  Bone spurs are bony overgrowths that occur around the joint (i.e., at the end of the thigh bone or top of the shin bone) and are in response to abnormal stresses placed across that area.  These are most commonly seen in patients with degenerative joint disease (DJD or arthritis).