Small nonossifying fibromas (ie, fibrocortical defects) are incidental findings commonly seen on radiographs of young patients evaluated for extremity pain or sport-related trauma. Although pathological fractures have been reported in larger lesions, the subcentimeter, intracortical defects are not generally thought to predispose to pathological fractures. The authors report on 2 young athletes who presented with knee pain after initiating conditioning exercise programs (cross-training). Both were diagnosed with transverse metaphyseal stress fractures involving fibrous cortical defects of the distal femur. Initial radiographs were interpreted without evidence of fractures. However, subsequent magnetic resonance imaging was informative, suggesting that magnetic resonance imaging may have value in identifying potential stress reactions in young athletes. In addition, subsequent plain radiographs of both patients showed subperiosteal new bone formation in these nondisplaced fractures, suggesting that serial radiographs and close clinical follow-up are warranted for patients with persistent symptoms. The authors propose that, in the appropriate clinical setting, the presence of a small nonossifying fibroma may be a clinical indication that further evaluation is needed when plain radiographs show normal findings, as the defect could be an unrecognized area of fracture initiation.
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