3D Printed Implant Used to Repair Knee Cartilage
Knee injuries tend to be common among athletes, people working in heavy labor industries, and those in their older years of life. It’s actually estimated that about one million people tear the cartilage of their knee each and every year. With so many cases, you should assume that this would be an easy fix. However, that wasn’t always true.
The cartilage of the knee according to any knowledgeable sports doctor near LAX does possess great healing attributes. Rather, the cartilage isn’t very quick at healing. This is due to its physicochemical properties. This hasn’t stopped sports medicine near LAX in trying to find a viable solution to repair the knee cartilage injury. Recently, a study from the Children’s National Health System revealed that 3D printing may just be the answer.
Understanding The Makeup Of The Knee
Our chiropractor near LAX can show you the various bones that run into the knee. These include the femur, tibia, and patella. All of these bones are covered with articular cartilage. During normal wear and tear of life, this cartilage can tear and create a knee injury. As any good LAX sports injury doctor will tell you, it’s important that you understand the makeup of your knee so that you commit to following the proper recovery exercises and care.
How Is 3D Printing Making A Difference?
Sports medicine for athletes near LAX can utilize 3D printing technology to create an implant to put into the knee. This implant is made of a biodegradable material called thermoplastic polyurethane or TPU for short. This is a very elastic material that mimics the consistency of cartilage of the knee. TPU is also very porous which is ideal for letting nutrient flow and blood throughout the implant.
The whole intent of this according to a sports doctor near LAX is to allow the native cells of the body to repair the tear in the cartilage. This fosters the creation of articular cartilage. It’s important to note that this doesn’t create scar tissue like some other natural repairs of the body do.
The Components Of The Implant
When undergoing knee repair for sports medicine for athletes near LAX, you’ll be given an implant. This implant is composed of various structures to mimic the traditional cartilage of the knee region. The upper region of the implant has micro-channels that assist in allowing blood to flow freely throughout the implant. The middle region of the implant is a nanoporous structure. This allows for stem cell recruitment and growth. Lastly, the lower region has an articular surface that works to minimize adverse interactions between the cartilage and the meniscus.
If you’ve currently endured a tear in the cartilage of your knee, you may have seen an LAX sports injury doctor. While this is a fairly new technology, 3D implants are looking to be the new beam of hope for individuals. It’s very likely that sports medicine near LAX can be used to repair your torn knee cartilage in the future years. For right now, you can contact our chiropractor near LAX to endure physical therapy and manual manipulation tactics to manage your condition.