The most common area for cartilage defects is in the knee, and many individuals will experience this issue after undergoing trauma such as ligament injuries or various other medical conditions. Although conservative treatments are typically the first options for addressing knee cartilage defects, including medications, physical therapy, and injections, these often cannot resolve the entire issue.
At this point, you will want to turn to one of many other treatment options for your knee cartilage defects depending upon your injury and the procedure that you’re willing to pursue.
Alternative Treatments to Consider
When conservative methods fail, you may want to consider one of several alternatives. Some of these options include:
- Microfracture – As one of the least invasive alternative options to consider, microfracture treatments will actually stimulate your body to grow cartilage in your damaged knee. Arthroscopic techniques can be used for this treatment, which involves penetrating the bone to expose inner layers of marrow, allowing cells to access areas without cartilage. While it is not known how well these new cells will hold up over time, it is still a solution that you may want to consider.
- Cartilage Transfer – As you might suspect, a cartilage transfer means that you will have healthy cartilage moved from different places in your body to your knee with the cartilage defect. If you have small defect areas in need of cartilage, this option may be the best choice as