Subchondral stress fracture of femoral head in a healthy adult

Subchondral fracture of the femoral head is an uncommon entity and usually occurs as an insufficiency fracture associated with poor bone quality or as a fatigue fracture in young military recruits. This condition should be considered in the differential diagnosis of acute hip pain in young patients along with transient osteoporosis and avascular necrosis of the hip. We report a case of acute onset hip pain in an asymptomatic healthy adult in which the diagnosis was made by magnetic resonance imaging and the patient responded well to conservative treatment.