Cartilage is a connective tissue found in many parts of the body. Although it is a tough and flexible material, it is relatively easy to damage. In severe cases, a piece of cartilage can break off.

This fine, rubbery tissue acts as a cushion between the bones of joints. People with cartilage damage commonly experience joint pain, stiffness, and inflammation (swelling). 

Cartilage has several functions in the human body:

• Reduces friction and acts as a cushion between joints and helps support our weight when we run, bend, and stretch
• Holds bones together, for instance, the bones of the ribcage
• Some body parts are made almost entirely of cartilage, for example, the external parts of our ears
• In children, the ends of the long bones are made of cartilage, which eventually turns into bone

Unlike other types of tissue, cartilage does not have a blood supply. Because of this, damaged cartilage takes much longer to heal, compared with other tissues that are supplied by blood. 

Symptoms

Patients with damage to the cartilage in a joint (articular cartilage damage) will experience:

• Inflammation – the area swells, becomes warmer than other parts of the body, and is tender, sore, and painful
• Stiffness
• Range limitation – as the damage progresses, the affected limb will not move so freely and easily

Articular cartilage damage most commonly occurs in the knee, but the elbow, wrist, ankle, shoulder, and hip joint can also be affected.

In severe cases, a piece of cartilage can break off, and the joint can become locked. This can lead to hemarthrosis (bleeding in the joint); the area may become blotchy and have a bruised appearance.

Mesenchymal Stem Cells   

Stem cells have been shown and proven to not only regrow cartilage, bone and ligaments they have been helpful in improving blood flow and nerve function to relieve pain.

MSC transplantation treatment was shown to be safe and has excellent potential as an efficacious clinical therapy for patients with cartilage damage. MSCs can regenerate cartilage. 

Treatment with MSCs has been used as a novel and effective therapeutic strategy to improve the efficacy and level of cartilage damage repair.