Chondromalacia as a separate entity: new perspectives on osteoarthrosis.

Cartilage fibrillation does not necessarily progress. There appears to be different mechanical factors involved in the initiation and the progression of cartilage changes in osteoarthrosis. This means there is some rationale behind what we see clinically happening after successful osteotomy or other operations that lower the stress on degenerating joints, and it means that if we can do something about the level of stress and, therefore, the level of bone remodeling in patients with fibrillation, we may be able to keep that cartilage from further degenerating.