|
Click here to view in browser.
|
|
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services / National Institutes of Health
|
|
|
|
|
Helene M. Langevin, M.D.
June 29, 2023
When people have pain in their joints, it’s often assumed that the cartilage in the joint is to blame, and that damage to cartilage is a progressive and irreversible process that can only be managed until the joint needs to be replaced. But the situation is both more complex and more hopeful. Joints are integrated organs that consist of a variety of different tissues—not just cartilage, but also bone, tendons, ligaments, muscle, synovium, myofascial tissues, the joint capsule, and others. Each can play a role in joint pain. Understanding the interactions between these tissues is key to knowing how joint pain can be resolved, joint function restored, and further deterioration prevented.
|
|
