Experiences With Other Joints

The title of the article raises the expectation that the focus is on conservative and surgical measures in cartilage defects in human joints. However, on further reading it becomes obvious that the article is actually restricted to the knee joint—something that the reader is not told. The latest moment for readers to become aware of this state of affairs is when reading about imaging modalities for diagnostic evaluation: the X-ray in the Rosenberg view is a weight bearing imaging technique particularly for the knee joint. On reading further, one wonders whether what follows also focuses exclusively on the knee joint. Has anyone reported experiences with intra-articular injection of hyaluronic acid into the shoulder joint, for example? Have marrow-stimulating techniques been successfully used on other joints? Where are the explanations regarding joint-sparing surgical measures on the hip joint, for example, in treating femoroacetabular impingement? These questions remain unanswered, which is regrettable in such an interesting article.

DOI: 10.3238/arztebl.2012.0266a

Dr. med. Achim Schröder

Klinik Münsterland, Bad Rothenfelde, schroeder@klinik-muensterland.de

Conflict of interest statement

The author declares that no conflict of interest exists.