Knee cartilage damage can be caused by a sudden twisting movement or a direct impact to the knee – both of which happen in sports such as rugby, squash, football or skiing.
Arthritis is a common cause of knee cartilage damage. There are two main types of arthritis:
- osteoarthritis – a degenerative condition that wears away bone and cartilage
- inflammatory arthritis, including rheumatoid arthritis – an inflammatory disease-causing swelling and stiffness in your joints, which can damage the bones and cartilage
It can also occur as a result of osteochondritis dissecans (where a piece of cartilage separates from the joint surface).
The symptoms of knee cartilage damage are similar to other common knee injuries:
- joint pain – this may continue even when resting and worsen when you put weight on the joint
- swelling – this may not develop for a few hours or days
- stiffness
- a clicking or grinding sensation
- the joint locking, catching, or giving way
PRICE regime
To manage pain and swelling in the days immediately after an injury, you are advised to follow the PRICE regime:
- Protection: Support your knee as it recovers by wearing a knee brace.
- Rest: Allow your knee time to heal by avoiding activities that might delay recovery.
- Ice: Ice your knee two to three times a day, for 20 minutes at a time.
- Compression: Use a bandage to limit swelling and inflammation.
- Elevation: Elevate your leg as much as possible.
Physiotherapy
One of our physiotherapists can also give you exercises to help regain motion and build up muscle strength and flexibility around the knee.
Injections and supplements
Occasionally, you may be offered supplements such as glucosamine, chondroitin, and omega 3, which may help in preserving the rest of the cartilage.
You may also be offered injections to aid your recovery, including:
- steroids, to reduce inflammation
- hyaluronic acid, to improve lubrication
- platelet-rich plasma (PRP) or bone marrow aspirate stem cells, which may help reduce pain and promote healing
- artificial joint injections such as Arthrosome for arthritis
If your cartilage damage is severe or not responding to physiotherapy, your orthopaedic surgeon might recommend surgery.
Your surgeon repairs cartilage damage by inserting surgical instruments through small cuts in your knee. The operation is carried out using a tiny video camera inserted into your knee and a monitor. Cartilage repair can involve shaving or cutting off ragged edges of torn tissue. If the cartilage in the knee doesn’t need replacing, your surgeon may drill small holes in the surface of the bone to encourage the cartilage to re-grow in place. In some cases, cartilage from another part of your body can be grafted onto the bones.
Open surgery
In some cases, your surgeon will operate by making a larger incision to open up the entire knee joint and repair the cartilage damage using autograft, allograft, scaffolds, and/or chondroplasty.
- Maintain a healthy weight to reduce stress on the knees.
- Strengthen supporting muscles (especially quadriceps and hamstrings).
- Warm up before exercise and use proper sports techniques.
- Wear appropriate footwear.
- Avoid pushing through pain – rest and seek medical advice if discomfort persists.
- Good: walking (if pain-free), swimming (especially front crawl or modified strokes), and cycling – all low-impact and joint-friendly.
- Bad: high-impact sports, running on hard surfaces, or twisting movements can worsen damage.
If you are swimming, avoid wide frog kicks (breaststroke) if they cause discomfort.
- Minor injuries: may improve within days or weeks with rest and self-care.
- After arthroscopic surgery: recovery may take several weeks to months, with physiotherapy being essential.
- After open surgery or joint replacement: recovery is longer, often several months, with gradual return to full activity.
