Bad to the Bone: Osteomyelitis

What is osteomyelitis?

Osteomyelitis is a bone infection that usually affects the longest bones in the body, so it may cause upper leg pain, lower leg pain, or upper arm pain, as well as pain in the spine.

Bone infections are caused by bacteria or fungi and may occur after an injury when the bone is exposed to germs, or when infections that start elsewhere in the body reach the bones via the bloodstream. Osteomyelitis can occur in children or adults, and the symptoms may be more acute in children.

Symptoms of osteomyelitis include:

• Pain in the leg (or other infected area)
• Swelling and tenderness
• Fever
• Drainage from the area of infection

Sometimes people with osteomyelitis have symptoms that last for years, but there’s no need to suffer unnecessarily. A specialist can evaluate osteomyelitis and prescribe antibiotics to tame the infection. Surgery is needed in some cases to remove diseased bone and restore blood flow.

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