Articular cartilage is a tough hyaline cartilage that covers the ends of the bones that make up the knee joint. Knee injuries can cause damage to the articular cartilage (full or partial thickness) and this damage does not spontaneously heal. Loose flaps of cartilage can irritate the joint and these can be dealt with at the […]
Knee Conditions Archives
Meniscal Cysts
These are swellings that appear on the side of the knee joint. Patients are aware of a lump developing on the outside of the knee. The lump is often, but not always, painful as the meniscal cyst is associated with a meniscal tear. Meniscal cysts arise from a torn meniscus that has a type of tear called a […]
Meniscal Tears
The menisci are C-shaped cartilage discs that sit on the top of the tibia and act as shock-absorbers. Twisting injuries (typically during sport) can cause tears of the menisci, but tears can also occur without an injury in patients who have some wear and tear of the knee joint (degenerate tears). This is because the slightly […]
Platelet-rich Plasma (PRP) for knee arthritis
A new study has demonstrated that platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections improve pain and function in patients with knee arthritis at 1-year follow-up. The study was interesting because not only did it use patient questionnaires to judge improvement in symptoms of pain and knee function, but serial MRI scans were also performed to see if the arthritis […]