Where is articular cartilage found and what is its function?
Articular cartilage. It’s that stuff you never really think about until it starts hurting like an all-you-can-eat buffet on a first date. But what actually is it? And where can we find it lurking in our bodies, just waiting to pull the rug out from under us?
What Exactly Is Articular Cartilage?
Articular cartilage (AC) – also called hyaline cartilage – is a smooth, translucent tissue that covers the ends of bones within synovial joints. Think of AC as the juicy cushion between two slices of bread – except instead of sandwiching cheese and meat together, articular cartilage cushions your bones so they don’t rub against each other like discount store shoes.
So essentially, articular cartilage acts as a shock absorber for our precious little bone endings.
Which Joints Have Articular Cartilages?
When most people hear about “joints”, they usually imagine knee or hip joints… but did you know that almost every movable joint in your body has its very own special articular cartilage? Check out these examples:
Knees
The old classic: Picture yourself walking up a flight of stairs – congratulations! You’re using both femur-tibia AND patella-femoral articulations! Truly stunning work!
Hips
Hip-hooray; Can I get an acapella “artificial acetabular chondral defect”? That one’s for all my scientists out there who love themselves some $5 words.
Shoulders
Listen up kiddos: This ball-&-socket gory crunch extravaganza includes multiple articulations roles to show off their distinct weird-looking cavities.
& Many More!
Like ankle and thumb. Go ahead now honeybun , point at your tippy-toes with them slim-digit sea anemones, now curl them back to make a thumbs-up to secure your daring venture through this paragraph.
What Does Articular Cartilage Do?
While we already touched on AC being there to keep our bones from scraping against each other like mismatched cheese graters…
Provides Lubrication In the Joint
Fun fact alert: The articulating surfaces of synovial joints are actually flatter than most people believe. Yet somehow, these two flattish surfaces work together in perfect harmony – thanks mostly due to the viscosity of synovial fluid and a secret recipe handed down through generations Greek grandmas.
No no no just kidding. Bouncing off my earlier joke about $5 words: it’s glycoproteins within the synovial fluid that create suction so good you’ll be convinced vacuum cleaner salespeople have lost their jobs.
Absorbs Shock
AC cells secrete specific proteins that give it its unique structure; spongey-like in nature but hard as nails when pressure is applied.
This creates amazing shock-absorption properties designed specifically for handling weight-bearing locomotion (a fancy term referring to us walking around or jumping on trampolines.)
Spreads Weight Evenly Through Joints
One important role articular cartilage plays is distributing any load evenly throughout the joint- just like how butter distributes itself perfectly over popcorn kernels, satisfying all test subjects at movie screenings nation-wide._
But unlike fatty snacks where one kernel could end up with more toppings than another creating dissatisfaction this event has never been recorded within living human beings._
How Can We Keep Our Articular Cartilages Healthy & Happy?
Look After Your Adjacent Muscles And Ligaments
Muscles provide stability for your joints; strong muscles = healthy functioning joyous dance floors for your articular cartilages!
Avoid Overworking Joints
Overworking /overusing activities can increase the rate of wear and tear on AC, leading to conditions like osteoarthritis – this can make bones rub together causing uncomfortable swelling and/or pain.
Let’s all imagine a group of bears trying to dance onstage together. If one bear starts pirouetting aggressively then things could get out of control fast (imagine Lady Gaga stage dove off the stadium into your living room). You don’t want that pressure too much weight-bearing for any joint.
Maintain A Healthy Weight
Excess body weight puts extra strain/load on our Joints which also lead to excess wear and tear over time- donning articular cartilage with small chips which are difficult if not impossible repair/replace since they do not receive proper blood supply.
In summary, Articular Cartilages sit in many different joints in our bodies providing us with quite essential “amortization” mechanisms during daily activities such as walking or running deforming synthetics shapes_ but extending their life without including tacos (as hard it is). While there may not be an articular-cartilage-enhancing diet plan available at present, keeping an eye part recently while performing day-to-day physical activities will give legs down the road( but ask doctor first please). Oh alright let me clear my inbox right now.