Once damaged, articular cartilage will not heal on its own.

Symptoms of articular cartilage injury includes pain around or under the knee cap, swelling, and limitations in daily function or sports. The pain may worsen when climbing stairs or straightening the knee.

There are patient-specific treatment factors such as age, activity level, function and expectations. There are cartilage-defect specific factors such as the size of the cartilage lesion, where it’s located and whether or not it occurs in combination with other problems in the knee joint.

Treatments for articular cartilage injury of the knee includes cortisone or hyaluronic acid or platelet-rich plasma injections, bracing and physiotherapy.

Surgical treatments include microfracturing with a special pick and De novo, which uses donor cartilage to repair the knee. Orthopedic surgeons in some parts of the world perform a process called autologous chondrocyte transplantation.