Joints — The Cartilage & Tendon Economy

Story

Connected to · 4

cofactor · 1

All-Nighter
Keeping joints healthy depends not only on daytime activity but also on repair at night: growth hormone is released mainly during deep sleep. Chronic short sleep cuts deep sleep; how much that affects joint repair has not been measured directly, but the mechanism points the wrong way.

regulates · 1

Gout & Hyperuricemia
A joint that suddenly turns red, hot and swollen is a different problem from wear and tear: urate crystals falling into the joint space set off acute inflammation. An attack like this needs a prompt medical visit to tell gout apart from a joint infection.

contrast · 2

Glucosamine + Chondroitin
Glucosamine and chondroitin generally do no harm, but do not expect them to repair cartilage, and do not put them ahead of exercise and weight loss, which are the core treatments for osteoarthritis with the strongest evidence.
Collagen peptides
The promise that collagen peptides fix joints goes too far. In a 24-week trial of college athletes with activity-related joint pain, those taking collagen hydrolysate improved more on pain scores, but that is a signal about symptoms, not evidence that cartilage was rebuilt. First-line care for joints is still exercise plus weight loss.

Read full story

Stop 1/7

The seven parts of a joint

EVIDENCEREVIEW 3

READ THE ORIGINAL

A joint is not two bones meeting at a point. It is a small team of tissues working together: the cartilage pads, the synovium and its fluid, the capsule and ligaments, tendons, a meniscus or labrum, bursae, and the proprioceptive nerves that tell the brain how far the joint is bent. When any one of them falls behind, you can feel pain.

Remember one thing first: of those seven, only the synovium, the capsule and the ligaments have their own blood supply. Cartilage and the inner part of the meniscus have none. They depend on you pressing down, letting go and pressing again, which squeezes nutrients in from the joint fluid. How to look after a joint, and how to train it, follows from that one fact.

Educational content, not medical advice — consult a clinician.

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Joints — The Cartilage & Tendon Economy

Story

Connected to · 4

cofactor · 1

All-Nighter
Keeping joints healthy depends not only on daytime activity but also on repair at night: growth hormone is released mainly during deep sleep. Chronic short sleep cuts deep sleep; how much that affects joint repair has not been measured directly, but the mechanism points the wrong way.

regulates · 1

Gout & Hyperuricemia
A joint that suddenly turns red, hot and swollen is a different problem from wear and tear: urate crystals falling into the joint space set off acute inflammation. An attack like this needs a prompt medical visit to tell gout apart from a joint infection.

contrast · 2

Glucosamine + Chondroitin
Glucosamine and chondroitin generally do no harm, but do not expect them to repair cartilage, and do not put them ahead of exercise and weight loss, which are the core treatments for osteoarthritis with the strongest evidence.
Collagen peptides
The promise that collagen peptides fix joints goes too far. In a 24-week trial of college athletes with activity-related joint pain, those taking collagen hydrolysate improved more on pain scores, but that is a signal about symptoms, not evidence that cartilage was rebuilt. First-line care for joints is still exercise plus weight loss.

Read full story

Stop 1/7

The seven parts of a joint

EVIDENCEREVIEW 3

READ THE ORIGINAL

A joint is not two bones meeting at a point. It is a small team of tissues working together: the cartilage pads, the synovium and its fluid, the capsule and ligaments, tendons, a meniscus or labrum, bursae, and the proprioceptive nerves that tell the brain how far the joint is bent. When any one of them falls behind, you can feel pain.

Remember one thing first: of those seven, only the synovium, the capsule and the ligaments have their own blood supply. Cartilage and the inner part of the meniscus have none. They depend on you pressing down, letting go and pressing again, which squeezes nutrients in from the joint fluid. How to look after a joint, and how to train it, follows from that one fact.

Educational content, not medical advice — consult a clinician.