Porckopás
Do you care about the condition of your joints? Then it's worth looking into the origins of even milder symptoms. If your joints are often sore and stiff, if they need time to settle after prolonged rest, you may be affected by cartilage wear. If the problem is left untreated, you may develop severe pain and limited mobility over time. However, a combination of medical treatment and lifestyle changes can work wonders and even the most severe pain can be relieved. What are the causes and symptoms of cartilage wear? How can it be diagnosed and treated? Read our article to find out!
What is the role of cartilage in movement? Cartilage covers the ends of the bones that make up joints, and its job is to make sure that the bones don't rub against each other when they move. The cartilage layer is the result of a continuous process of breaking down and building up. If this balance is upset (and there are many reasons for this) and the breakdown processes become predominant, the cartilage layer begins to wear away. This can affect several joints in the body. When cartilage wears away and bones rub against each other during movement, it causes very severe pain.
What are the types of cartilage damage?
There are basically two types of cartilage wear: primary and secondary. Learn the difference between them:
Primary cartilage damage
We talk about primary cartilage damage when we don't know what the cause is. In this case, thorough medical tests do not reveal any disease or previous injury. Primary cartilage wear tends to occur in older people and becomes more common from the age of 40 to 50. It is slightly more common in women than in men.
Secondary cartilage damage
We can talk about secondary cartilage loss if we know the cause of the lesion. Secondary cartilage wear can also occur at a younger age and can be caused by injuries, overuse, significant excess weight and arthritis, among other things. In many cases, treatment of the secondary disease or injury can slow down the progression of cartilage deterioration.
Causes of cartilage wear
In the case of primary cartilage wear, it is not possible to know what caused the lesion, but in the case of secondary cartilage wear, we know the cause or causes. From this, we present some of the more common factors that can contribute to the development of the lesion. Often a combination of factors leads to cartilage wear.
- Injuries: The cartilages are quite strong, but they can be damaged by minor or major accidents. And a single injury to cartilage makes joints more fragile and sensitive, and cartilage wear often develops as a result.
- Overweight: The extra pounds put a lot of strain on the joints and can also cause cartilage damage. And it's not just extreme obesity that can cause problems! Just 5 kg of excess weight increases the incidence of knee cartilage damage by nearly 40%. It's worth losing the extra pounds, and it's good to know that slow weight loss is healthier than fast! It is advisable to seek the advice of a dietician to lose weight.
- Overload: It is not only one-off major injuries that can lead to cartilage damage, but also a multitude of microtraumas. This is common, for example, in competitive athletes, but also in amateur athletes who regularly overload themselves or use incorrect technique in their sporting activities. Years or decades of physical work can also be a direct route to cartilage wear.
- Genetics: Cartilage wear is also a function of hereditary factors, there is not much you can do about it, it is worth avoiding the risk factors that you can (such as being overweight, overwork).
- Age: As the years go by, the surface of the cartilage wears away without damage, so as the years go by, the chances of developing cartilage wear increase. The condition really starts to become more common after the age of 50, and after the age of 70, most people have to deal with it - with minor or major pains in their daily lives.
- Diabetes: People with type 2 diabetes are more likely to have cartilage damage. It should be noted, however, that this is not due to diabetes itself, but to obesity, which is a risk factor for both diabetes and cartilage damage.
Dr. Gergely Holnapy PhD
Orthopaedic traumatologist, assistant professor, robotic surgeon
Symptoms of cartilage wear
Cartilage wear can start with minimal symptoms, which does not reduce the quality of life and does not prevent you from doing anything. Initially, the symptom may be a very mild pain that occurs only intermittently. As the symptoms are quite tolerable at this stage, many people do not see a doctor at this time. This is a big mistake, as the process of cartilage wear is still going on.
Cartilage continues to weaken, becoming increasingly soft and worn. The pain becomes more severe and more frequent, and the so-called “start pain”, a typical symptom of cartilage wear, also appears. This means that the joints are stiff and difficult to move in the morning or after prolonged rest, but are usable again after a short break-in.
If the cartilage damage becomes even more severe, the pain can be so severe that it makes it difficult to move and sometimes prevents the patient from resting at night. It is important to know that symptoms caused by cartilage wear can be relieved or eliminated. And the sooner you see a doctor with your symptoms, the quicker and easier it will be to help.
Types of cartilage wear
The types of lesion are differentiated according to the joint affected. Learn about the characteristics of each type of cartilage damage:
- Knee: The knee is under a lot of strain: it bears our weight with every step we take, so it's no wonder that it is very often affected by cartilage wear. When the lesion first appears, we initially notice that our knees hurt when we exert ourselves, for example when squatting or jogging, and over time we notice that they hurt when we walk. And in the morning, when you get out of bed, the knee joint is stiffer and it is harder to move.
- Hand: In the hand, cartilage damage most often occurs in the joints between the knuckle and the knuckle below it, which in severe cases can lead to deformity of the fingers.
- Gerinc: The process of cartilage loss in the spine starts relatively early, around the age of 30, and can affect both the vertebrae and the intervertebral discs. Age, overweight and overloading are also risk factors for the disease, and bone abnormalities in the vertebrae and changes in the quality of cartilage tissue can also lead to cartilage wear in the spine. The lumbar spine is most commonly affected, but the neck is also often affected.
- Hips: Congenital hip dislocation, hip injuries and overuse of the hip can also cause hip joint cartilage damage. Overweight and genetic factors may also be involved. A typical symptom of hip joint pain is initially hip pain on exertion. The cartilage surface of the hip joint softens and tiny pieces of cartilage begin to detach. This can trigger arthritis, which can cause severe pain. Over time, this pain increases and the range of motion of the joint becomes reduced.
How is cartilage wear diagnosed?
With symptoms of cartilage wear an orthopaedic specialist it is recommended to contact. The doctor will take a medical history at the beginning of the examination. That is, he will ask you about your symptoms, when they first appeared, under what circumstances, and whether they occur at rest or when you move. This is followed by a physical examination, where the doctor checks the range of motion, stability, tenderness and muscle condition of the joint or joints. Also, if necessary for an accurate diagnosis, X-ray image or MR examination you can ask for. Once the diagnosis is known, personalised treatment can begin.
Effective treatment of cartilage wear
The specialists at the Budapest Musculoskeletal Private Clinic offer the most modern and effective treatments for patients seeking to recover. In Hungary only we can offer the very effective hypACT™ serum therapy.
Prof. Dr. Zsombor Lacza PhD
Orthopedic-traumatologist general practitioner
Medical treatment of cartilage wear
In the early stages of the disease, conservative therapy is usually an effective way to relieve pain. Some of the methods used to treat hip joint wear include:
- Pain and anti-inflammatory medicines and creams
- Physical therapy
- Physiotherapy treatments
- Steroid injection: There is a version that relieves pain within a few hours and lasts for about a week. Other types start to work more slowly, but the good results last for months.
- Hialuronic acid: The doctor injects hyaluronic acid into the joint, which not only reduces pain but also protects and nourishes the cartilage surface. Hyaluronic acid is a constituent of cartilage and synovial fluid and “lubricates” the joints
- hypACT™ serum therapy: Serum therapy is the best known injectable treatment for knee osteoarthritis. It can have a regenerative effect in the early stages of the disease and a very good anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect in the later stages. It is a natural analgesic solution that uses serum taken from the patient's blood to treat the pain.
Treating cartilage wear with physiotherapy
The symptoms of cartilage wear can be effectively alleviated with physiotherapy exercises that help to relieve pain, increase muscle strength and increase range of motion. Strengthening the muscles stabilises the joint and takes the strain off it, so can help prevent or slow down further deterioration. A physiotherapist first assesses the patient's condition, then recommends and teaches personalised exercises to be done daily at home.
Treating cartilage wear at home
In the case of cartilage damage, medical treatment is the best option, and home methods should be considered as a supplement. For example, a warm bath can help to relieve the pain of cartilage wear. However, if there is acute inflammation in the joint, it is the cold effect that is beneficial, and cold water compresses should be applied to the sore area. In the case of cartilage damage, it is recommended to swim and cycle regularly and, if you have extra kilos, it is a good idea to lose them.
Dr. Szabolcs Gáspár
Orthopaedic traumatologist, head of department, robotic surgeon
Cartilage wear surgery
if conservative therapy no longer relieves the pain of cartilage wear and the symptoms lead to a significant deterioration in quality of life, surgery can help to get rid of the pain. Arthroscopy, or arthroscopy of the joint, which involves washing the joint, removing damaged tissue and bone spurs that interfere with joint function, can be effective in some cases of knee cartilage damage. This can relieve pain and slow down the process of cartilage deterioration.
And in the most severe cases, prosthesis implantation can bring salvation to patients. Most often, the hip are used for cartilage damage, but in the knee replacement transplantation is also becoming more common. Modern implants immediately replace the function of the original, damaged joint, the excruciating pain is immediately relieved and recovery is rapid with post-operative physiotherapy. Patients can also return to sport.
The specialists of the Budapest Musculoskeletal Private Clinic use the most modern and effective minimally invasive surgical technique for the implantation of prostheses. That is, our doctors operate using the so-called muscle displacement method, so they do not have to cut through muscles to access the joints. This means a much faster recovery and less pain during post-operative rehabilitation.
Do you have cartilage damage? Is joint pain making your daily life miserable? Experience the joy of movement again!
The experienced orthopaedic specialists and dedicated physiotherapists of the Budapest Musculoskeletal Private Clinic will help you to enjoy pain-free movement, tailored to your individual needs!
Make an appointment now at the Budapest Musculoskeletal Private Clinic for a specialist examination by calling +36 (1) 44-33-433.