Osteochondroma: Examination

A comprehensive clinical examination is the basis for selecting further diagnostic steps:

  • General physical examination – including blood pressure, pulse, body weight, height; further:
    • Inspection (viewing).
      • Skin and mucous membranes
      • Extremities:
        • [swelling?
        • Deformities in joints, bones?
        • Paresthesias (numbness)?]
      • Spine, thorax (chest).
      • Gait pattern (fluid, limping)
      • Body or joint posture (upright, bent, gentle posture).
      • Malpositions (deformities, contractures, shortenings).
      • Joint (swelling (tumor), redness (rubor), hyperthermia (calor); injury indications such as hematoma formation, leg axis assessment).
    • Measurement of joint mobility and range of motion of the joint (according to the neutral zero method: the range of motion is expressed as the maximum displacement of the joint from the neutral position in angular degrees, where the neutral position is designated as 0°. The starting position is the “neutral position”: the person stands upright with the arms hanging down and relaxed, the thumbs pointing forward and the feet parallel. The adjacent angles are defined as the zero position. Standard is that the value away from the body is given first). Comparative measurements with the contralateral joint (side comparison) can reveal even small lateral differences.
    • If necessary, special functional tests (differential diagnostic e.g. meniscus test).
    • Assessment of blood flow, motor function and sensitivity:
      • Circulation (palpation of pulses).
      • Motor function: testing of gross strength in lateral comparison.
      • Sensibility (neurological examination)
    • Auscultation (listening) of the heart.
    • Auscultation of the lungs
    • Palpation (palpation) of the painful area [pressure, motion, rest pain? The tip of the exostosis (bony outgrowth developing from the bone surface) can often be palpated; the tumor is usually not pressure painful]
    • Palpation of the abdomen (abdomen), etc.
  • If necessary, neurological examination[due tosymptom:
    • Paresthesias (numbness) of varying degrees of non-traumatic etiology]
  • If necessary, orthopedic examination [due todifferential diagnoses:
    • Osteochondromatosis, familial – multiple osteocartilaginous exostoses as a hereditary systemic disease with a higher risk of degeneration.
    • Injuries/sports injuries]

    [due topossible secondary diseases:

    • Bursitis (bursitis) in the affected area.
    • Joint malpositions
    • Short stature (too small body size for the age)
    • Oblique growth
    • Asymmetrical growth in length of arms or legs – due to displacement or destruction of growth plates, caused by the spread of osteochondroma]
  • Health check

Square brackets [ ] indicate possible pathological (pathological) physical findings.