Helene M. Langevin, M.D.
June 29, 2023

When people have pain in their joints, its often assumed that the cartilage in the joint is to blame, and that damage to cartilage is a progressive and irreversible process that can only be managed until the joint needs to be replaced. But the situation is both more complex and more hopeful. Joints are integrated organs that consist of a variety of different tissuesnot just cartilage, but also bone, tendons, ligaments, muscle, synovium, myofascial tissues, the joint capsule, and others. Each can play a role in joint pain. Understanding the interactions between these tissues is key to knowing how joint pain can be resolved, joint function restored, and further deterioration prevented.