[tjpaudio]

This is something I have long suspected. I have definitely heard of instances where friends subsequent MRIs have shown regrown cartilage in the knee, but years later. And it doesn't happen for everyone. The friends that regrew, they were runners, they took their injury seriously, they kept moving but were very serious about maintaining flexibility, diet, hydration, etc. I think if you wear down your cartilage, but do nothing to address the tightness that caused the wear in the first place, then you will not see regrowth. The fact that this is an interesting research finding is reflective of somewhat a sad fact in my eyes: people generally do not take care of themselves, instead hoping for surgery or a pill or procedure. Few will add an hour of rehabilitative work to their daily routine and instead just live with the issue forever and complain. I have herniated discs, torn bicep tendons, had tendonitis nearly everywhere at one point or another, sublexed my knees, but nearing 40 I still am active as ever with no daily pain. Some of these injuries took me years to recover from, but recover I did.

[omegaworks]

Thing is daily pills and even surgery are far more scalable than finding competent rehab facilities that can take patients regularly. This is an incredible problem that I think technology is nearly on the cusp of changing. Gamification[1] of the process, externalizing the internal motivations that drove you to continue those good habits will be critical.

1. https://youtu.be/AdoVBbZ0Z9o

[lallysingh]

Will I think part of that is that a surgeon or pill tell you simple instructions and you have a good idea on what to get back. Exercise is way better but you get no guidance on whether you're doing it right or if it's working.

[whoiskevin]

Bull. I've had cartilage worn out in my knee for years. I remain active and take it very seriously. You don't get "regrowth" and recover. And frankly I don't believe MRIs have shown regrowth...this is a constant rumor I hear all the time and yet no one shows any consistent formula for this regrowth which means it is either false or just rare and not reproducible.

[tjpaudio]

My personal experience has been it's a grueling exercise in trial and error to find what works. To have the opinion that its all bull is certainly justified, we for sure don't know the formula, but I propose that it's there, beckoning to be figured out. Just to stretch and keep active is not detailed enough. It's identifying problem areas, working on them every day, but also working them especially hard and taking time off when you have flare ups. Staying active, but not blindly... Finding the right amount of movement that causes no issue, and increasing ever so slowly, and backpedaling when you mess up, and reducing the number of times you backpedal because every time you have to it works against you. Doing this every day, being patient, being at terms with some things take years. 4 years ago my back dr told me I should stop doing all physical things - the pain would never go away. I said screw that. Its been 7 years now. I rock climb, I lift weights, I hike, I surf... No pain. It's possible.