What does chondral wear mean?
Chondral lesions may be degenerative (a “wear and tear” problem) or traumatic (caused by an injury such as falling on the knee, jumping down, or rapidly changing direction while playing a sport).
What is chondral damage to knee?
Chondral injuries of the knee are lesions of the articular cartilage of the knee joint. (The colloquial expression “cartilage damage” might also include meniscal tears, which is an altogether separate category of disease.)
Can a chondral defect heal itself?
Because cartilage does not heal itself well, doctors have developed surgical techniques to stimulate the growth of new cartilage. Restoring articular cartilage can relieve pain and allow better function.
How do you treat full thickness of cartilage loss?
Treatment of Cartilage Defects In the case of global thinning of the cartilage such as seen with osteoarthritis, the treatment is typically conservative including rest, ice, anti-inflammatory medication, cortisone injection, and physical therapy or a home exercise program.
How do you fix a chondral fissure?
The most commonly performed procedures for treating chondral defects are Shaving and Microfracture. This arthroscopic technique has been popular for 20 years and has had very satisfactory results for over 75% of patients.
How is chondral loss treated?
The procedure used for partial chondral lesions involves removal of fragments such as unstable chondral flaps, osteophytes, excess synovium, degenerated menisci and torn ligaments(22). It is generally done using a shaver, but other methods such as electrocautery, laser or radiofrequency techniques may also be used(25).
How bad is a chondral defect?
It is a common injury affecting 5-10% of people over age 40, but it can also affect young patients that experience traumatic injuries. Damage to knee cartilage can lead to osteoarthritis of the knee over time. Focal chondral defects are graded by severity.
What are chondral flaps?
Chondral flaps and fractures represent a dis- tinct and important subset of cartilage disorders in the knee [5, 8, 9, 14]. These are traumatic in- juries, often associated with ligament tears, and are usually produced by a twisting force during athletics or by a direct blow [1, 2, 5, 6, 14].
What does full-thickness chondral loss mean?
Injury or Condition Cartilage cracking, fragmentation and erosion over time has resulted in full-thickness loss of your weight-bearing (articular) cartilage, often altering the alignment of your lower extremity towards bowing (bow-legged). This condition is osteoarthritic in nature.
What is a Grade 3 chondral defect?
Chondral damage is graded from mild to severe, and all grades can have characteristics of osteoarthritis. Grade I – The cartilage “blisters” and becomes soft in the earliest form of damage. Grade II and III – As the condition worsens, the cartilage may become fibrillated (it has a shredded appearance).
How do I know if I have damaged my knee cartilage?
Symptoms of cartilage damage
- joint pain – this may continue even when resting and worsen when you put weight on the joint.
- swelling – this may not develop for a few hours or days.
- stiffness.
- a clicking or grinding sensation.
- the joint locking, catching, or giving way.
What Is fissuring of the knee?
Fissuring: A fissure is a crack in a layer of cartilage. This causes a separation in the layer. Sometimes this causes no symptoms. In other cases it can cause a “catching” sensation if it blocks movement of the knee joint.
What is the best treatment for chondral defects in the knee?
Treatment for Chondral Knee Injuries. Non-Surgical. Articular cartilage degeneration is often treated without surgery. Dr. Millett will recommend weight loss, exercises to strengthen the muscles around the joint, supplements and possibly injections of hyaluronic acid to improve joint lubrication and reduce friction.
What are chondral defects?
CHONDRAL DEFECTS. A chondral defect is a defect in the articular (hyaline) cartilage at the end of the bones. The defect is often on the femoral condyle (the rounded end of the thigh bone) and can result from an injury where there is a direct blow to the bent knee. Sometimes the damage involves bone loss resulting in osteochondral defects.
What does chondral changes in the knee mean?
In the knee, chondromalacia is usually related to injury, overuse of the knee, and poorly aligned muscles and bones around the knee joint. These causes include: Trauma, especially a fracture (break) or dislocation of the kneecap. An imbalance of the muscles around the knee (Some muscles are weaker than others.)
Does chondral grafting work?
ANSWER | While chondral grafting does work if you select your patient very carefully is it is unlikely to replace traditional knee replacement in the foreseeable future. I have focused on the latest literature regarding chondral grafting in preparing this article.