The Trouble with Knees: It’s the Chondrocytes, Stupid

Predictably, the best advice in this New York Times’ piece on the biology and mechanics of knee injuries is "Don’t get injured."  But the story also delivers plenty of interesting, if not always useful, information about pain relievers, nutritional supplements, and the latest surgical techniques intended to repair tendons. Most interesting is a brief explainer on chondrocytes, the specialized cells that make up cartilage. Chondrocytes, it turns out, are true to the myth that every teenage boy believes about sperm: you only get so many of them. The Times reports that chondrocytes, which are damaged or killed by injuries, stop replicating about the time your skeleton becomes
mature, usually in your mid-teens to early 20’s. The piece also reports some good news from the surgical front: orthopedic surgeons have figured out that removing a torn meniscus or tendon often leads to even greater damage. Instead, they have found ways to suture menisci, a procedure that was long thought to be  impossible.
Read more about knee injuries and what to do about them in the New York Times.