Positive correlation between osteoarthritic ankle pain and bone marrow pressure.

We evaluated whether intraosseous pressure correlated with osteoarthritic ankle pain. This and the swelling around the ankle joint were investigated in 12 patients with secondary osteoarthritis of the ankle joint. Significant correlations were found between indexed intraosseous pressures and the degree of pain, whereas swelling around the ankle was not correlated with pain. On the other hand, a significant correlation existed between the indexed values of intraosseous pressure in the talus and the indexed values of ankle joint swelling. It was concluded that the intraosseous pressure index may be used as an objective variable for evaluation of osteoarthritic ankle joint pain.