A new alternative in the treatment of cartilage injuries
April 26, 2017
Of the problems that can be detrimental to exercise practitioners, and particularly runners, there is one that especially requires greater care for the severity of its consequences. This is the problem of joint cartilage lesions, which constitute a true "ghost" for both exercise practitioners and the elderly. Due to the importance of the theme, we request the collaboration of the physiotherapist, PhD in Rehabilitation by UNIFESP Gerseli Angeli in the preparation of the text below: The two main problems that affect the health of articular cartilage are: osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis is a purely cartilage problem, with no autoimmune component. The main symptoms are pain, edema (swelling), crackling and deformation of the cartilage and consequently of the affected joint. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that among other systemic disorders is accompanied by inflammation of the joints, fatigue and muscular pain and whose progression leads to joint deformation. Due to the inflammatory picture present in both diseases, the treatment of choice is the administration of non-hormonal anti-inflammatories and analgesics, and the maintenance of joint mobility in order to prevent and / or decrease deformation. Although these treatments control the symptoms resulting from the inflammatory process, they do not alter the course of the disease, which is only possible with the reconstruction of the cartilage. For decades, oral administration of nutritional supplements based on glycosamine and chondroitin has been used on a large scale to achieve even a slight cartilaginous reconstruction. More recently, a new alternative has appeared with encouraging results. The use of hydrolyzed collagen, with a programmed break, presents evidences of favoring the formation of a new cartilaginous tissue. To date, the results obtained in studies based on image evaluation such as magnetic resonance imaging and subjective perception of pain have been quite satisfactory, which has led to increased consumption of this nutrient by several patients affected by both diseases, waving An encouraging prognosis for a problem of such difficult treatment.