Cartilage damage is a fairly typical kind of injury. It typically includes the knees, although joints such as the hips, ankles and elbows can likewise be impacted.

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What is Cartilage Damage

Cartilage is a hard, versatile tissue discovered throughout the body. It covers the surface area of joints, functioning as a shock absorber and enabling bones to move over one another. It can end up being harmed as an outcome of an unexpected injury, such as a sports injury, or progressive wear and tear (osteoarthritis). Minor cartilage injuries might improve on their own within a couple of weeks, however more serious cartilage damage might ultimately need surgical treatment.

Symptoms of Cartilage Damage

Symptoms of cartilage damage in a joint consist of:

joint discomfort — this might continue even when resting and get worse when you put weight on the joint
swelling — this might not establish for a couple of hours or days
tightness
a clicking or grinding experience
the joint locking, capturing, or paving the way

It can often be challenging to inform a cartilage injury apart from other typical joint injuries, such as sprains, as the signs are comparable.

When to get medical recommendations

If you have actually hurt your joint, it’s a great concept to attempt self care steps initially. Sprains and small cartilage damage might improve by themselves within a couple of days or weeks.

More serious cartilage damage most likely will not enhance on its own. If left without treatment, it can ultimately use down the joint.

Visit your GP or a small injuries system (MIU) if:

you can stagnate the joint correctly
you can not manage the discomfort with normal pain relievers
you can not put any weight on the hurt limb or it paves the way when you attempt to utilize it
the hurt location looks jagged or has uncommon swellings or bumps (aside from swelling)
you have feeling numb, discolouration, or cold in any part of the hurt location
your signs have actually not begun to enhance within a couple of days of self-treatment

Your GP might require to refer you for tests such as an X-ray, MRI scan, or arthroscopy to discover if your cartilage is harmed.

Treatments for Cartilage Damage

Self care steps are typically suggested as the very first treatment for small joint injuries.

For the very first couple of days:

secure the afflicted location from additional injury by utilizing an assistance, such as a knee brace
rest the impacted joint
raise the impacted limb and use an ice bag to the joint routinely
take normal pain relievers, such as paracetamol or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen

Get medical recommendations if your signs are serious or do not enhance after a couple of days. You might require expert treatment, such as physiotherapy, or potentially surgical treatment.

A variety of surgical methods can be utilized, consisting of:

motivating the development of brand-new cartilage by drilling little holes in the close-by bone
changing the harmed cartilage with healthy cartilage drawn from another part of the joint
changing the whole joint with a synthetic one, such as a knee replacement or hip replacement — this is typically just essential in the most serious cases