Health information

QUESTION: Is there a condition where the muscle turns into a bone? A friend
of mine had an x-ray of his arm, and there was a piece of bone seen that
normally isn’t there
The doctor says that the only way to treat it is to
remove it with an operation, but wants to wait a while to see how big it is
going to get
Is this right? Please help us.

ANSWER: The condition is one that is known, and bears the impressive name of
“myositis ossificans”; but it really isn’t muscle turning into bone, although
that is the meaning of the translation of these words which come to us from
the both the Greek (”myo” means “muscle”) and the Latin (”ossificans” means
“to make bone”)
Actually the process begins with an injury, usually a
contusion or strain, in which the muscle is torn, and blood collects in a clot
called a “hematoma”
The most common spot for these types of injuries are the
thigh, followed by the mid arm
The bone formation usually only occurs on
severe injuries, and may also involve a clot infection after a respiratory
infection
Slowly the clot is transformed into bone, possibly from bone cells
which came from an injury to the covering of the bone (periosteum) which might
have occurred at the same time
The bony mass keeps enlarging for as long as
six or seven weeks, after which a process of resorption begins
Small masses
may disappear completely, but when a large bone mass remains after a longer
period of time, the only way to remove it is by using surgical techniques.
Interestingly enough there is another situation in which such benign bone
growth may be seen, and it is called “drug user’s elbow”
Here the process
starts with the injuries to muscles and surrounding tissues that have been
caused by the unskilled use of a needle that was in search of a vein, but
instead ripped the other tissues in the area
The brachialis muscle of the
upper arm is the muscle most commonly injured
If your friend’s doctor
believes that his injury is recent, he is correct in waiting a bit to see
what develops before attempting to remove abnormal bone.

The material contained here is “FOR INFORMATION ONLY” and should not replace
the counsel and advice of your personal physician
Promptly consulting your
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
problem.

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