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Cartilage Injury services offered in Columbus, GA
A cartilage injury can happen at any time, restricting your mobility and keeping you from the activities you love. At St. Francis Orthopaedic Institute in Columbus, Georgia, board-certified orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist Jake Dunn, DO, provides high-quality care for cartilage injuries. Dr. Dunn takes an integrative, minimally invasive approach that relieves pain and promotes prompt healing. Call the St. Francis Orthopaedic Institute office today to make an appointment or book your visit online.
Cartilage Injury Q & A
Who is at risk of suffering a cartilage injury?
Cartilage injuries affect people of all ages but are most common in runners, other athletes, and generally active folks. Cartilage is a rubbery connective tissue found throughout your body. It pads your joints so that your bones don’t rub against each other. Cartilage injuries prevent the tissue from doing its job, causing joint stiffness, swelling, and pain.
What are the symptoms of a cartilage injury?
Cartilage injury symptoms range from mild to severe, depending on how badly you’ve been injured. Telltale signs include inflammation, stiffness, and reduced range of motion. Rarely, cartilage breaks off, locking the joint; this can cause bleeding in the joint, bruising, and discoloring of the skin.
Cartilage injuries occur throughout the body but usually affect the elbows, wrists, shoulders, knees, and hips.
What is a cartilage injury diagnosed?
Dr. Dunn reviews your medical records and asks about your injury, including what you were doing when it happened and if your symptoms get worse during certain activities. He completes a physical exam, checking the affected joint for redness and swelling.
Dr. Dunn assesses your joint’s range of motion and gently presses on it to identify sensitive places. Then, he completes diagnostic imaging like an MRI or arthroscopy. These procedures let him pinpoint the location and severity of your cartilage injury.
How is a cartilage injury treated?
At St. Francis Orthopaedic Institute, Dr. Dunn treats cartilage injuries with minimally invasive surgery. He could suggest:
Debridement
This procedure clears away debris and dead tissue, smoothing the damaged cartilage to prevent it from irritating or rubbing against other areas of your body.
Marrow stimulation
During this procedure, Dr. Dunn drills tiny holes in the bone beneath your damaged cartilage. This causes a blood clot to form inside the cartilage, stimulating the growth of new, healthy tissue.
Mosaicplasty
This procedure removes healthy cartilage from another part of your body and uses it to replace the damaged cartilage. It’s only recommended for people with cartilage damage in a single joint.
Autologous chondrocyte implantation
During this procedure, Dr. Dunn collects and sends a sample of your cartilage to a lab. The lab uses your tissue sample to grow more cartilage cells. Several months later, the lab-grown cartilage is implanted into your damaged joint.
Call the St. Francis Orthopaedic Institute office today to schedule cartilage injury treatment, or book your visit online.