Articular cartilage injury: filling potholes.

From Hippocrates to Hunter and at present, articular cartilage injury presents significant problems. Articular cartilage injury is the Achilles’ heel of the athlete. What can be done about this? First, the etiology of the pothole needs to be defined. Osteoarthritis, traumatic injuries, and osteochondritis dissecans are the big three. Better diagnostic and imaging techniques are now available to evaluate these potholes. The defect can be seen in the articular cartilage, and computed tomography can be used to measure the size of the defect.