Authors: Gordon Slater|Tandose Sambo
What Is BioCartilage?
The future of medicine is evolving before our eyes. When it comes to your health, and life in general, it is always important to think thoughts that are cutting edge, innovative and revolutionary. As we transition towards natural healing, in the orthopaedic world, BioCartilage is emerging as a technology that can heal your arthritis, and enable healthier joints and more longevity. BioCartilage as a therapy has facilitated the restoration of the osteochondral lesion (located in the ankle joint) via minimally invasive therapies. The healing properties of BioCartilage are proving to induce faster healing, and more permanent healing.
BioCartilage as a treatment for cartilage restoration, is derived from donor cartilage, and fused with natural growth factors to help stimulate the healing of cartilage cells.
How is BioCartilage Applied to Heal The Ankle Joint?
Applying the ankle image above as a baseline, one can visualize that the ankle joint is comprised of two main bones – the tibia and the talus. The tibia is the large vertical bone, and it is resting on the horizontally orientated talus bone. Joint fusions need lubrication much like mechanical joints in physical systems. This lubrication is provided by cartilage, which is a tough tissue that is directly on the bone.
There are instances where the cartilage can wear away, and expose the bone. In this instance, the bones can rub against each other causing a very painful experience. The wearing away of cartilage generates what is known as an Osteochondral lesion. They are usually induced by sports or life induced sprains. BioCartilage is a means via which the smooth bone cartilage interface can be restored.
Osteochondral Lesion Treatment
Traditional surgical treatments involved complete removal of damaged cartilage, and the facilitation of the regrowth of fibrocartilage (which acts like scar cartilage), and additional support by a cartilage plug. The procedure, although helpful, did not completely heal the area. BioCartilage has proven to be more effective than this traditional treatment because it actually creates a 3-D micro-scaffold to allow regrowth of the original cartilage.
Once surgically installed into the ankle region, the healing time is as follows:
- Two to four weeks of in cast healing
- Physical Therapy after week four
- Weight bearing after six weeks of treatments
As with all treatments, talk to your orthopaedic surgeon if this therapy is one that you’ll feel will help to heal your arthritis. Your orthopaedic surgeon will assess your foot and ankle with tools such as an X-ray or an MRI scan.
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