Breathing New Life into Your Knees with Cartilage Restoration
Cartilage is like a shock absorber. If you’ve ever been in a car that needs new shocks, you understand how rough it can be not to have the proper shock absorption in place to protect you. Cartilage cushions joints and keeps the bones from grinding against each other. But cartilage breaks down over time, from aging and stress of wear. At some point, the cartilage is no longer able to do its job to protect your joints. One of the most common joints to suffer from cartilage wear is the knee. Injured cartilage will not normally heal, but you can breathe new life into your knees with cartilage restoration.
What Is Cartilage Restoration?
Articular cartilage is the thin layer of cartilage that covers the ends of the bones where they connect at a joint. It helps the bones to glide easily past one another during motion. Cartilage restoration can be performed using a variety of different processes, depending on the patient’s level of cartilage damage. The purpose of the restoration is to promote cartilage growth and healing. There are three types of restoration we typically perform, all of which have videos that further explain the procedures and how they work to restore cartilage and encourage the body to make new cartilage:
- Cartilage Repair with Arthrex® BioCartilage®
- Microfracture with Arthrex® PowerPick™
- BioUni® OATS® Surgical Technique
Benefits of Cartilage Restoration
Cartilage has no blood supply, so it is unable to repair itself. While the loss of articular cartilage itself does not cause pain, the resulting rubbing of bone on bone when moving your knee can be extremely painful and limit your mobility. A cartilage restoration procedure can help reduce knee pain and improve mobility as well as help prevent future degeneration.
If you are suffering from knee pain or believe you may need a cartilage restoration procedure, a consultation with an orthopedic specialist may be the first step towards diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. Dr. Burrus is an experienced fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon who is dedicated to providing high-quality, specialized holistic care. Call 512.477.6341 or fill out the form on this page to schedule an appointment.