What should you know about osteomyelitis pain?

Inflammation inside and around bone can create an aching or throbbing sensation. Pain may be localised, worsen when the nearby joint or limb is used, or remain present at rest. Some people also notice tenderness, warmth, swelling, drainage from a wound, fever, or tiredness. Long-standing infection may have less dramatic symptoms, so a modest change in pain still deserves attention when it is new or persistent.

Pain alone cannot confirm osteomyelitis. Clinicians combine your history and examination with blood tests and imaging, and sometimes a sample from the affected area. A change in pain can reflect infection, healing tissue, a wound problem, or another musculoskeletal condition.

Arrange a clinical assessment if pain is new, persistent, or returning after treatment, particularly near a recent operation, wound, fracture, or implant. Use prescribed pain relief exactly as directed and do not change antibiotics without advice. Rest the area within the limits given by your clinician, protect a wound, and record changes in pain, temperature, swelling, and movement.

Do not squeeze a draining area or apply unadvised products to it. If reconstruction is discussed because infection has damaged bone, your surgeon may explain options such as [Bone Grafting](/treatments/trauma-and-fracture-care/bone-grafting/).

Seek prompt care for pain that rapidly intensifies, fever or chills, spreading redness, increasing warmth or swelling, new pus or bad-smelling drainage, or feeling faint or very unwell. After an injury or procedure, seek urgent assessment for severe pain with a cold, pale, numb, weak, or difficult-to-move limb.

Could this pain be coming from bone, the surrounding soft tissue, or a joint? Which examination or scan is appropriate? What pain changes should I report? How should I protect the area while it is being assessed?