The investigators hypothesize that patients receiving subchondroplasty combined with arthroscopy will have reduced knee pain, improved knee function, and improved bone quality and micro-architecture compared to patients receiving arthroscopy alone who have symptomatic early osteoarthritis with the presence of at least one BML observed on MRI.~Patients who provide informed consent to enroll in the study will be scheduled for knee surgery and randomized to receive subchondroplasty and arthroscopy or arthroscopy alone. Knee function outcomes will be assessed at initial presentation, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, and 24 months following surgical intervention. Patient-reported pain will also be recorded at 2 weeks following surgical intervention. The evaluation of bone quality and micro-architecture will occur at baseline, 3 months, and 12 months following surgical intervention. X-rays will also be evaluated at the 24-month time-point.
The primary objective of this randomized pilot study is to evaluate whether subchondroplasty combined with knee arthroscopy is more effective at reducing knee pain and improving knee function compared to knee arthroscopy alone. All knee function outcomes will be assessed at initial presentation, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, and 24 months following surgery using validated questionnaires. Patient-reported pain will also be recorded at 2 weeks after surgery.~The secondary objective of the study is to determine whether the subchondroplasty and knee arthroscopy group has better bone quality and bone micro-architecture compared to the group receiving knee arthroscopy alone. Bone quality/micro-architecture will be evaluated at baseline, 3 months, and 12 months following surgery using Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and High-Resolution Peripheral Quantitative CT (HR-pQCT) imaging and at baseline, 3 months, 12 months, and 24 months after surgery using X-rays.