Orthopedic Expertise for Foot & Ankle Cartilage Injuries

Diagnosis and Treatment of Cartilage Injuries

University Hospitals’ nationally recognized orthopedic team will perform state-of-the-art imaging tests on your ankle or foot to carefully identify any damage and design the right treatment plan for you. Common imaging tests may include:

• Computed tomography (CT): Creates detailed images of bones to determine injury extent.
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans: Can show small tears and areas of tendon, ligament, cartilage or other muscle injury.
• X-rays: Can be used to rule out fractures as X-rays clearly show any break in bones or joint dislocation.

Surgical Techniques to Repair Foot & Ankle Cartilage

Because cartilage can’t repair itself, surgical treatment is often needed to treat foot and ankle cartilage injuries. At University Hospitals, all of our orthopedic surgeons are highly skilled Level 1 trauma surgeons, meaning they have the training and experience to repair the most significant or complex foot and ankle injuries, including damaged cartilage. Our surgical options for cartilage repair include:

• Arthroscopic ankle surgery to remove or repair pieces of torn cartilage
• Implanting your own healthy cartilage cells into the damaged area
• Transplanting cartilage from a donor to replace damaged cartilage tissue

When surgery is the best treatment path, our orthopedic surgeons collaborate to determine the option that will best meet each patient’s individual goals. Our experts in minimally invasive surgical interventions can repair the injuries and offer you faster healing, less bleeding and a speedier recovery.

Leading-Edge Rehabilitation Program

Completing your ankle or foot cartilage injury recovery process will likely include a rehabilitation program to help you regain full mobility. University Hospitals offers comprehensive orthopedic rehabilitation programs for foot and ankle cartilage injury recovery that feature leading-edge technology, including:

• AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill: The AlterG treadmill is equipped with a pressurized “anti-gravity” chamber that surrounds your body’s lower half. The chamber takes the weight off your ankles and feet so you can begin to walk and run sooner without pain or risk of further injury.
• DartFish: A video-based software platform that evaluates your walking or running movement. Your orthopedic care team will study the video recording to determine how the ankle or foot cartilage injury may be affecting your movement and will a design rehabilitation program to correct those issues.