Cartilage & Your Joints

The material coating our joints, bright white and elastic, only a few millimeters thick, is called articular cartilage. The cartilage we are born with does not normally renew itself if, and when it is damaged, the eventual loss of cartilage, if it spreads severely enough, results in a loss of the cushion supporting the joint—this is defined as arthritis. Patients with loss of cartilage commonly lose the ability to run, to play sports, to squat down, and to take steps the way they used to. They are in pain. The loss of mobility often results in weight gain, and this further damages the joints in a vicious cycle.

The purpose of this web site is to educate people about what is possible today in cartilage repair, including some techniques that have long-term follow-up and some that are too new to be considered well proven. The field is exploding with new ideas, including ideas based upon stem cells and ideas based upon novel medical devices. Many companies are hard at work trying to push the field forward. There have been great strides by some companies outside the U.S. , and some of these therapies await FDA approval. Every effort will be made to clarify the status and availability of these options.