Every moving part of the body has a connective tissue that provides cushion between the bone and joint. The flexible fibrous tissue therefore protects the moving bones from touching the joint which may cause a painful feeling referred to as a stiff. There are three types of cartilages in the human body which are the elastic cartilage, Hyaline cartilage and the fibrocartilage. Arthritis may come about if the joint cartilage is not present and this shows its importance in the body. The official name of the joint cartilage is the articular cartilage because it covers the whole surface where the joint meets with the articular bone. In basic terms, the joint cartilage is found at the knee joint and ensures there is no friction generated between the femur and the tibia.
It is important to note that the chondroitin sulfate and type II collagen are the primary constituents of the cartilage. The cartilage also contains a synovial fluid that is responsible for making the movements smoother. Because of the location of the articular cartilage, it is therefore thicker than many other cartilages in the body.
You should bear in mind that one of the most important functions of the articular cartilage is to allow for movements between the bones and the joint. Another point to note is that the joint cartilage does not heal when damaged is going to gradually reduce in size over the years due to disorders or normal wear and tear. The cartilage does not have any supply of nutrients that can enable it to regrow or regenerate.
In case your articular cartilage gets damaged, you can rectify it through surgical techniques. A lot of times, restoration procedures that are applied very from patient to patient and the extent of damage can be found by taking x-rays. With the sensitivity of the articular cartilage restoration procedure, it will not augur well with everyone. Abrasion arthroplasty, autologous chondrocyte implantation, drilling and microfracture some of the widely used cartilage restoration procedures. In case you go through any of above cartilage restoration procedures, it is important for the patient to protect the area that was operated to ensure that the cartilage is going to heal well. You should consider rehabilitation which will involve a series of processes and physical therapy so that you can resume normal life. For more interesting reads about the joint cartilage, visit this site.