The clinical picture of a chondroblastoma depends on its size or extent as well as its location. Usually, a chondroblastoma is initially asymptomatic and therefore usually an incidental finding on radiography.
The following symptoms and complaints may indicate a chondroblastoma:
Main symptoms
- Mild to moderate (moderate) joint pain, pain on movement.
- Restriction of mobility of the affected body part / joint
- Effusion in the adjacent joint
- Limp
Localization
Typical of primary bone tumors is that they can be assigned to a characteristic localization in addition to a specific age range. They arise clustered at the sites of most intense longitudinal growth (metaepiphyseal/articular area).
The following questions should be answered by diagnostic measures:
- Localization in the skeleton → Which bone is affected?
- Localization in the bone → epiphysis* (joint end of the bone (near the joint)), metaphysis* (transition from epiphysis to diaphysis), diaphysis* (long bone shaft), central, eccentric (not central), cortical (at the solid outer shell of the bone), extracortical, intraarticular (within the joint capsule).
Chondroblastoma is usually localized in the epiphyses of long tubular bones, near the growth plates. Among them, it occurs most frequently in the proximal (towards the center of the body) tibia (tibia), followed by the proximal femur (femur), distal femur (away from the center of the body), flatfoot, as well as proximal humerus (humerus). However, chondroblastoma can also occur craniofacially (affecting the skull and face), as well as be localized to the shoulder, knee, hip, and small bones of the hands and feet.
* Example of the structure of a long bone: epiphysis – metaphysis – diaphysis – metaphysis – epiphysis.
