The surface of the normal knee joint is covered with a layer of cartilage (called brittle bone or cartilage membrane in folklore), the thickness of cartilage varies from 3-7mm, depending on the individual, but in general, people with thick cartilage have a long life expectancy. Cartilage is layered, and each layer can be slightly displaced to relieve pressure and shock, and there is a layer of end plate between cartilage and bone, and there are small blood vessels under the end plate to provide nutrition to cartilage. Cartilage contains water, proteoglycans and collagen, and is full of elasticity. When people reach middle age, or even just past 30, many people’s motor systems quietly begin to age. This is manifested in the aging of cartilage in the joints, which is easily damaged. Many people often do not participate in sports, cartilage lack of strength stimulation, water loss, collagen structure disintegration, cartilage gradually become thin, brittle, loss of toughness, not wear-resistant, not resistant to pressure, sudden sports or long-distance travel climbing, cartilage structure fracture or even end plate fracture, the end plate under the rupture of blood vessels, stimulation of synovial membrane, the formation of acute synovitis, this cartilage damage is minor, most can be self-healing. However, if greater violence acts on the cartilage, the loosening, peeling or even falling off of large pieces of cartilage or osteochondral blocks can lead to severe pain, swelling and strangulation, and it may be difficult to recover at this time, and the occurrence of osteoarthritis is certain in the future. Our normal cartilage is called hyaline cartilage. If cartilage damage occurs, without any treatment, through the body’s own repair, after resting, fibrocartilage will form on the surface of the damaged area to replace it, and this fibrocartilage is not as resistant to pressure and wear as the innate hyaline cartilage, but if you do not engage in heavy physical labor, this layer of fibrous tissue can still be used for many years. The worst result is that a large area of cartilage is completely stripped, worn out, and not rested, which quickly leads to severe osteoarthritis, a phenomenon commonly seen in people engaged in heavy physical labor. Generally speaking, in young people before the age of 30, the regenerative capacity of the cartilage still exists and it is possible to repair the damage. However, after middle age, especially after the age of 50, cartilage damage is almost impossible to regenerate, and in most people, serious cartilage damage can lead to early onset and accelerated development of osteoarthritis. Therefore, cartilage protection is very important. Simply put, cartilage needs continuous gentle mechanical stimulation, which means a certain amount of daily exercise, such as walking, but not excessive exercise. Here are two extreme examples. In patients who are bedridden and cannot walk for a long time, the cartilage atrophy is so severe that they cannot walk at all once they are on the ground. Soccer players, whose cartilage is often damaged by high speed sports and high speed impacts, can develop severe osteoarthritis at a very young age. People who have long cartilage life are those who have long been in physical exercise and are careful to protect themselves from injury.
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