Why this Gilbert cartilage guide stays simple

Who runs this guide, and what happens if you call?

This field guide is part of the same Phoenix-area ownership group that operates QC Kinetix clinics. The business can benefit when a reader schedules with the Chandler office named here.

QC Kinetix offers regenerative treatments, its term for non-surgical clinic care that may use your own blood. For platelet-rich plasma, a small blood sample is prepared to keep the part with more platelets, then that prepared part is placed in the sore joint during the visit. The concentrated form has a higher platelet level than the regular form.

A medical provider, meaning the clinician who examines you, will ask what hurts and what you've stopped doing. The care is offered to ease soreness, and the exam helps decide whether either blood-based choice fits. You may hear that a different kind of care would suit the joint better.

Ask what you'll pay and how long normal chores may be limited. If an answer isn't clear, ask again before agreeing. You don't need to hurry.

Sources

1. The Cochrane review of surgical interventions for isolated cartilage defects of the knee in adults found only three randomised trials, all comparing mosaicplasty with microfracture, reporting 133 participants in total with a mean defect area of 2.8 cm2. It found NO randomised trials of allograft transplantation or drilling at all, judged every trial at high or unclear risk of bias, and rated the quality of evidence very low for every outcome.

   Gracitelli GC, et al. — Surgical interventions (microfracture, drilling, mosaicplasty, and allograft transplantation) for treating isolated cartilage defects of the knee in adults.. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2016. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD010675.pub2.

2. In a meta-analysis of 63 studies covering 5,397 knees of 4,751 adults with NO symptoms and no injury, the pooled prevalence of cartilage defects on MRI was 24% (95% CI 15% to 34%), rising from 11% in adults under 40 to 43% in adults aged 40 and over. Meniscal tears were present in 10%, bone marrow lesions in 18% and osteophytes in 25%.

   Culvenor AG, et al. — Prevalence of knee osteoarthritis features on magnetic resonance imaging in asymptomatic uninjured adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.. Br J Sports Med, 2019. DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2018-099257.