Regrow Your Cartilage

It's a good thing we're young at heart because not much else is young, especially our joints! No kidding. Don't try to squat or you won't get back up. So, imagine the joints of athletes. Their old injuries usually come back as osteoarthritis or OA. When it becomes severe, joint replacement is the only option but there are now technologies that can regrow the cartilage lost in OA.

While broken bones can heal, damaged cartilage doesn't because it lacks blood vessels.

So to encourage regeneration, surgeons can make small cuts in the bone beneath the injured cartilage. There are also cartilage replacement surgeries where a plug of healthy cartilage and underlying bone are taken from a non-weight bearing part of the knee and placed in the damaged area.

A new approach harvests cartilage cells from the patient's knee and grows them in the lab. Once ready, a cell infused membrane is implanted in the knee and new cartilage grows over time. Vericell Corporation developed an FDA approved approach called MACI. There are a few downsides. It's expensive and involves two surgeries. It's also not for people with full blown OA since some cartilage at the knee is needed for the implant to heal properly.

Full recovery takes a year and in the first six weeks, the patient must lie flat with a machine that gently and continuously moves the knee to avoid scar tissue. But the upside is that patients may be able to avoid knee replacements and maybe even allow athletes to resume their favorite sport.