|
|
|
Articular Cartilage
 |
Articular cartilage is an
extremely important component of joints. It is the smooth
covering of the end of the bones that allows for frictionless gliding of one
bone against another. Most people are probably most familiar with the
articular cartilage on the end of a chicken drumstick.
|
|
Wearing away of this
cartilage or damage by injury causes the joint surface to become rough and
irregular leading to friction. This roughening of the articular
cartilage is referred to as chondromalacia, which can be painful. This leads to further wear and tear and
inflammation and eventually results in the most common type of arthritis,
osteoarthritis (also known as degenerative joint disease).
|
|
Unfortunately,
articular cartilage in adults has extremely poor ability to heal after
injury. A lot of research is being done to find a way to stimulate the repair of
articular cartilage with medications, injections, open surgery, or
arthroscopic procedures. All have met with limited success. Although we
do not have a perfect solution to this problem, many new promising techniques
are currently available. Unfortunately, each technique has limitations and
is
indicated for only specific types of problems. Only a surgeon experienced and
skilled in various different techniques to address injury to the articular
cartilage can give you an accurate assessment of options for treating a
particular joint. |
|
If the entire
joint’s articular cartilage is worn, the only procedure expected to give
lasting pain relief with good joint function is a total joint replacement.
However, these artificial joints themselves wear out with time and use. Consequently, a
young adult or middle-aged person should try to postpone this surgery for as
long as possible due to the fact that they tend to be more active than older
individuals and consequently the artificial joint wears out more quickly.
Furthermore, results of revision artificial joint surgeries are generally not as good as
those of the first-time implantation. |
|
Arthroscopic picture of the
articular cartilage of a patella (knee cap) with roughening and irregularity of
the surface. |
|
Same
patella after arthroscopic chondroplasty (smoothening of the cartilage). |
|
