Back and knee pain

[Trlak]

I recently had an MRI of my knee and lower back.. However I don't know what the diagnosis means. If any one can answer it would be greatly appreciated.. My knee diagnosis is"there is a deep fissuring in the central patellar cartilage that is full thickness.. There is underlying reactive change in the patella..." My back diagnosis is "at L5 S1 there is a mild diffuse disc buldge without central or forminal stenosis.. Thanks in advance

[Ger57]

Disks act as cushions between the vertebrae in your spine. They're composed of an outer layer of tough cartilage that surrounds softer cartilage in the center. It may help to think of them as miniature jelly doughnuts, exactly the right size to fit between your vertebrae.

A bulging disk extends outside the space it should normally occupy. The bulge typically affects a large portion of the disk, so it may look a little like a hamburger that's too big for its bun. The part of the disk that's bulging is typically the tough outer layer of cartilage. Bulging usually is considered part of the normal aging process of the disk.
Bulging disks usually cause no pain.

Spinal stenosis is a fairly common problem caused by constriction of the spinal cord or nerves exiting from the spinal cord.
Central stenosis is stenosis of the spinal cord as foraminal stenosis is tightening of the exiting nerves or nerve roots.
None of these types are seen on your MRI.

[Ger57]

This would be considered a Grade II articular cartilage degeneration. The classifications basically goes: Grade 0, normal; Grade I, softening of the cartilage; Grade II, fissures; Grade III, partial thickness loss of cartilage; Grade IV, exposure of subchondral bone.

The problem with hyaline cartilage, which is what covers the bones inside of joints, is that it cannot regenerate itself. It has limited repair capabilities. If it does repair a small portion of the articular cartilage, it is with fibrocartilage. Fibrocartilage is sort of a scar for cartilage. It is not as good as hyaline cartilage, not as durable, or smooth.

Some patients swear by the joint supplements, such as chondroitin, hyaluronic acid, and glucosamine. There is some anecdotal evidence that these may help thicken the cartilage, but no strict research has ever shown this to be true.

[Trlak]

I recently had an MRI of my knee and lower back.. However I don't know what the diagnosis means. If any one can answer it would be greatly appreciated.. My knee diagnosis is"there is a deep fissuring in the central patellar cartilage that is full thickness.. There is underlying reactive change in the patella..." My back diagnosis is "at L5 S1 there is a mild diffuse disc buldge without central or forminal stenosis.. Thanks in advance