Summary | Exercises for cartilage damage

Summary

Our joints are constantly exposed to stress in everyday life. Wrong or overloading, but also trauma, can lead to cartilage damage. The cartilage covers our bones and forms a shock absorber and a sliding bearing for our joints.

Cartilage damage restricts joint function and can lead to painful restrictions in movement. The therapy of cartilage damage depends on the cause. Muscular stability to relieve the passive joint apparatus, axis training to avoid one-sided overloading in joints, stretching of shortened muscles, strengthening of weak muscles and a balanced interplay of loading and unloading are part of the therapy for cartilage damage.

Acute conditions, however, usually require complete immobilization for some time to relieve the cartilage. Heat or cold applications can then often relieve symptoms such as a feeling of tension (joint effusion) or pain. Cartilage cannot be produced anew by the body.Preventive therapy – maintaining mobility in the joints, avoiding one-sided stress and planning for regeneration of the joints after overuse – is therefore of great importance.

A balanced diet also has an influence on the condition of our joint cartilage. Most cartilage damage is degenerative, i.e. progressive and not curable, but can be controlled well for a long time by conservative therapy. Arthroscopic surgery can restore the joint surfaces. In late stages, an endoprosthetic joint replacement can be performed.