Knees. If you've got them, Look After ThemA Health pair of knees is so critical to full enjoyment of any exercise whatever you plan on doing. Nowadays it is certainly possible to get them replaced with artificial ones if they wear out but at all costs look after those that you were born with. Joints that are looked after and treated with respect will, baring all eventualities, last you a lifetime.
I know when i suffered an accident back in the 80s on the squash court. My opponent fell to the floor in front of me and i had to pull up sharply. I was in excruciating pain for some considerable time after but i managed to get back to playing. Two or three years later the swelling in my leg joint was so bad i had to seek medical advice. Umph, i wondered why i bothered.
I was told by a specialist that i had torn cartilage, wear and tear and arthritis. When i asked the specialist what exactly arthritis is his simple explanation was. " Well it's just wear and tear". My question then was "What can i do to make them better" "Nothing" was the reply. "Just keep taking the anti-inflammatory and we will give you a new replacement in 10 years time. That was 18 years ago and in the meantime i have trained and run the London marathon and i still have my own knees and i intend to keep them for a few good many years yet to come.
So what was/is the secret of my success? Well for a start i didn't take anti-inflammatory but i did take Glucosamine tablets. At that time Glucosamine was not really well know as a supplement although in America the sports people were swearing by it and claiming all sorts of successes with using it. Well they would wouldn't they if they were being paid to promote the product. I admit when i started to train for the 2002 London marathon i finally decided that playing squash really is not the best exercise for the health of my leg and hip joints so i finally gave that up. Not sure whether running is so good for the joints either but that is another area for discussion. The Knees are a wonderful piece of engineering that has stood the test of time by most creatures on earth. The more advanced the creature in the evolutionary scale the more complex the knee. All mammals have them and oddly enough the elephants knee is very similar to our own * a worm * a snake * a fish * a whale * a dolphin * a leech * a phyto-plankton * a jellyfish * a sea cucumber * a snail * a legless lizard are among some of the creatures that Do NOT have them. As a consequence i guess these don't suffer from knee injuries. The majority of problems arise when the cartilage which surrounds the end of the bones that meet at the knee cap ( the upper larger bone is called the femur and the lower tibia and the and smaller fibula travel from the knee down to the ankle (medial malleollus and lateral malleollus)
About the NICE guidance on autologous chondrocyte implantation 1. A quick reference version of the new guidance is available on the NICE website at http://www.nice.org.uk/page.aspx?o=TA089quickrefguide The full guidance is also available on the NICE website athttp://www.nice.org.uk/page.aspx?o=TA089guidance 3. Cartilage provides a smooth surface at the ends of bones that makes the movement within the joint easier and acts as a shock absorber to cushion the bone from forces of more than five times the body's weight. Cartilage lacks blood and nerve supplies, and therefore has a limited ability to repair itself (but and here is a big but...Cartilage is a living substance that is 85% water and is dependent on the sinovial fluid that surrounds it for its nourishment to remain healthy so go to a quack and have the fluid drained and you are removing the bodies ability to heal itself.) 4. Cartilage damage can be caused directly from injury, for example from sports, or suddenly for no apparent reason. People who damage their cartilage often experience knee pain, swelling, joint locking (this is when a joint becomes stuck in one position) and the 'giving way' of the joint. 5. Autologous cartilage implantation is a procedure during which normal cartilage cells are collected from inside the joint and grown in a laboratory for several weeks to increase the numbers of the cells. Once they have grown, the cells are implanted into the damaged area of the knee and sealed by a layer of tissue. 6. The Committee carefully considered new evidence from controlled trials that became available since the publication of the original guidance, but it was not convinced that the new data establish the effectiveness of the technology. The trials available provide inconsistent evidence of the clinical effectiveness of ACI. The relative effectiveness of ACI versus other treatments to mend damaged cartilage and also conservative therapy, remains unclear. In addition, the Committee concluded that health-related quality of life data on patients who undergo ACI and other procedures were inadequate. If you really do have knee problems then click the link below for some real relief. It costs nothing only fun time and you can explore the whole world in front of the computer before you get out there and enjoy the trip. Go on, take a hike.
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I have included an article published by the NHS on May25 2005:- PRESS RELEASE NICE 'updates guidance on the use of autologous chondrocyte implantation in treating cartilage defects in knee joints for your' reference.
