Researchers Announce The First Cartilage-Mimicking Gel That’s Strong Enough For Knees

[Michie]

The thin, slippery layer of cartilage between the bones in the knee is magical stuff: strong enough to withstand a person’s weight, but supple enough to cushion the joint during impact from decades of use.

That combination of soft-yet-strong has been hard to reproduce in the lab—but now, Duke University researchers say they’ve created an experimental gel that’s the first to match the strength and durability of the real thing.

The material may look like a distant cousin of Jell-O—which it is—but it’s incredibly strong. Although 60% water, a single quarter-sized disc can bear the weight of a 100-pound kettlebell without tearing or losing its shape.

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Researchers Announce The First Cartilage-Mimicking Gel That’s Strong Enough For Knees

 

[Brightmoon]

I hope so ! I know too many people with life ruining arthritic knees

 

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

I hope so ! I know too many people with life ruining arthritic knees

Yeah, mine make scrunching sounds when they bend - I think I'll be ready for this when it becomes available...

 

[Brightmoon]

You just might be too stiff . Try yoga, ballet or tai chi

 

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

You just might be too stiff . Try yoga, ballet or tai chi

No, not stiff at all, just scrunchy. It's due to lots of little chopped up pieces of cartilage. I've done my share of karate & tai-chi - it was years of football and squash (and tennis) that did for them.

I once did a research project for the Medical Research Council studying strength & gait recovery from knee injury & menisectomy in footballers and miners. The main finding was that leaving damage for more than a few months meant a significant increase in recovery time and a significant decrease in quality of outcome.

Most people with initial minor damage that is not incapacitating (like me) tend to carry on until well past the optimum time, at which point the consultants tend to favour living with it unless it's causing a lot of pain. Mine said, "If you get it X-rayed, they'll find something wrong; if they find something wrong, they'll want to fix it; if they try to fix it the only guarantee is that it will never be the same again..." [/Are you feeling lucky, punk?]