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Knee cartilage wear

How does knee cartilage wear away?

How does knee cartilage wear away?

Cartilage loss caused by a direct injury can result from blunt trauma to the joint. This can be from a severe car accident or even a very bad fall where the joint makes direct impact with the ground. If you’re an athlete, sporting injuries are also a cause of cartilage loss.

Knee cartilage wear

Knee cartilage erosion is a health condition that affects the cartilage in the knee area, but what do you know about this injury? Here are the details below:

What is erosion of the knee cartilage?

In general, below the joints in the body is a type of tissue called articular cartilage, which acts as a cushion for these joints . The cartilage helps cushion the bones and allows them to glide smoothly against each other.

Sometimes the cartilage inside the joint softens and breaks. This condition is called cartilage erosion. In this injury, the cartilage loses its ability to protect the ends of the bones while the joint moves, and therefore the ends of the bones can rub against each other, causing pain.

It is worth noting that cartilage has several functions, the most important of which are:

  • Reduces friction and cushions between joints, helping with support when running, bending and straining.
  • Connects the bones to each other.
  • Some parts of the body are made entirely of cartilage, such as: the outer parts of the ear.
  • The ends of the long bones consist of cartilage that eventually turns into bone in children .

Cartilage wear is a common condition, especially in the knee area . It can also occur in the wrist, elbow, ankle and shoulder.

Causes of erosion of the knee cartilage

There are several reasons that can cause erosion of the knee cartilage, including the following:

1. Injury to a direct blow

If the joint is exposed to a shock, such as: a hard fall or a car accident, the cartilage may be damaged, and it is worth noting that athletes are at greater risk of developing joint damage, especially those who play high-impact sports, such as  football .

2. Overuse and abuse of the joint

A joint exposed to prolonged stress can be damaged, as obese people are more prone to this problem than those of normal weight.

3. Lack of movement

Lack of movement puts you at risk of eroding the knee cartilage.

Knee cartilage wear symptoms

If you have erosion of the cartilage in the knee area, you will feel the following symptoms:

  • Pain in the joints continues when resting, and goes away when you put on weight or put pressure on the joint.
  • Inflammation and swelling, and the area may also become warmer than others.
  • joint spasm;
  • Feeling of joint friction.
  • Not moving the injured limb freely and easily as the damage progresses.
  • Locking the joint in severe cases due to the separation of a piece of cartilage, and this can lead to bleeding in the joint that appears in the form of bruises.

It can sometimes be difficult to distinguish a cartilage injury from other common joint injuries, such as  sprains , because the symptoms are very similar.

How can cartilage erosion be treated or replaced?

Unfortunately, the cartilage in the human body is not supplied with blood circulation like other tissues, and for this reason, the treatment and healing of this damaged cartilage requires a lot of time compared to other tissues that receive blood supply.

Despite this, the treatment of erosion of the knee cartilage depends on two main things, which are as follows:

  • Only the surface, ie the cartilage, is damaged while the bones below it are intact.
  • Both the cartilage and the bones that lie below it are damaged.

According to the US Food and Drug Administration, the current treatment for care is a procedure called a microfracture. The following is an explanation:

1. During capillary fracture

During a hairline fracture, the surgeon cleans the injury area, removes the damaged cartilage and exposes the healthy edges of the surrounding cartilage, then makes small holes in the bone at the base of the injury.

Over time, bone marrow cells rise through the holes and form a clot, which later turns into cartilage.

2. Post capillary fracture

After the surgery, the patient must do some specific treatments and exercises. These exercises help ensure that the clotted cells are transformed into cartilage, rather than becoming hard, such as: bone.

Sometimes the doctor may transfer the cartilage from the joint to the damaged joint, or he may place artificial cartilage in exacerbated cases.

source : wikipedia

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