The effects of exercise on human articular cartilage

Abstract

The effects of exercise on articular hyaline articular cartilage have traditionally been examined in animal models, but until recently little information has been available on human cartilage. Magnetic resonance imaging now permits cartilage morphology and composition to be analysed quantitatively in vivo . This review briefly describes the methodological background of quantitative cartilage imaging and summarizes work on short-term (deformational behaviour) and long-term (functional adaptation) effects of exercise on human articular cartilage. Current findings suggest that human cartilage deforms very little in vivo during physiological activities and recovers from deformation within 90 min after loading. Whereas cartilage deformation appears to become less with increasing age, sex and physical training status do not seem to affect in vivo deformational behaviour. There is now good evidence that cartilage undergoes some type of atrophy (thinning) under reduced loading conditions, such as with postoperative immobilization and paraplegia. However, increased loading (as encountered by elite athletes) does not appear to be associated with increased average cartilage thickness. Findings in twins, however, suggest a strong genetic contribution to cartilage morphology. Potential reasons for the inability of cartilage to adapt to mechanical stimuli include a lack of evolutionary pressure and a decoupling of mechanical competence and tissue mass.

Effects of High-Impact Training on Bone and Articular Cartilage: 12-Month Randomized Controlled Quantitative MRI Study

“…(36,37) On the contrary, cartilage has only a very limited ability to undergo long-term volume changes, (38,39) but its biochemical composition can adjust. (40,41) However, in our study, we did not find any changes in the estimated biochemical composition of cartilage, which is dissimilar to the findings of a study by Roos and Dahlberg.…”

Three-Dimensional Reconstruction of Columna Vertebralis Images of Elite Male Weightlifters Taken by a Multi-Detector Computerized Tomography (MDCT)

“…Biomechanical studies on elite weightlifters, the kinetic values showing the pressure exerted by the body and the weightlifting bars on the surface in the phases of weight-lifting, the angular and linear kinematics whereby the articulation angle and the bar orbit were checked and the calculations of force and energy exerted on the bar were under focus during the study (Gourgoulis et al, 2002;Isaka et al, 1996;Stone et al, 1998;Schilling et al, 2002;Souza et al, 2002). Eckstein et al (2006), in a cross-sectional design, compared the acute effects of different knee movements in the studies they carried out on the weightlifters and sedentary individuals in 2006. However, no studies were encountered either on the detailed analysis of the 3D columna vertebralis images taken by CT devices of elite weightlifters or on 3D reconstruction of these images.…”

Clinical anatomy aspects of functional 3D training - case study

“…Since physical training can be an important method for preventing falls e.g. in patients with neurodegenerative disease, and given the positive effects of exercise on healthy articular cartilage it can be protective against the onset of osteoarthrosis [15][16][17] . Functional training performed on unstable surfaces might best be utilized during after injury rehabilitation or during in-season training to maintain core endurance levels and reduce the incidence of injuries.…”