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Background <p>Articular cartilage of weight-bearing joints restores its thickness after loading through viscoelastic recovery. Creep-recovery is a key parameter for assessing cartilage biomechanical properties and is relevant for osteoarthritis (OA) diagnosis and cartilage replacement development. This study aimed to evaluate creep-recovery in human osteoarthritic cartilage.</p> Methods <p>Full-thickness osteochondral explants (n = 34) were obtained from tibial plateaus of 14 patients undergoing total knee replacement. Samples were graded histologically as normal (n = 6), mild (n = 18), moderate (n = 6), and severe OA (n = 4). Biomechanical testing was performed with a high-dynamic closed-loop indentation system using a porous indenter. Five creep-recovery cycles were applied under controlled load (0.01–0.196N); the third cycle was analyzed for creep, creep rate, recovery, recovery rate and stiffness.</p> Results <p>Normal and mild OA cartilage showed notably less creep strain than moderate OA (11.13 ± 3.84% vs. 12.45 ± 6.06% vs. 36.74 ± 25.75%; p &lt; 0.05). Recovery after 60&#xa0;s was 96.0 ± 2.8% in normal, 96.5 ± 5.0% in mild, and 95.8 ± 24.2% in moderate OA. Recovery rates were highest during the first second and significantly lower in moderate compared to normal and mild OA (p &lt; 0.05). Severe OA samples displayed advanced degeneration, precluding biomechanical analysis.</p> Conclusion <p>The viscoelastic recovery of human cartilage is significantly impaired in moderate OA, whereas normal and mildly degenerated tissue retain nearly complete restoration. Creep-recovery testing offers a sensitive functional marker for cartilage integrity and degeneration, supporting early detection of OA-related changes and evaluation of regenerative strategies.</p>

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Analysis of cartilage creep-recovery of human osteoarthritic cartilage

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年1月26日

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  • Josef Stolberg-Stolberg,
  • Iris Löscher,
  • Fiona Charitou,
  • Michael David Huelskamp,
  • Jan J. Lang,
  • Jeanette Köppe,
  • Igor Lazic,
  • Jutta Tübel,
  • Rainer Burgkart

摘要

Background

Articular cartilage of weight-bearing joints restores its thickness after loading through viscoelastic recovery. Creep-recovery is a key parameter for assessing cartilage biomechanical properties and is relevant for osteoarthritis (OA) diagnosis and cartilage replacement development. This study aimed to evaluate creep-recovery in human osteoarthritic cartilage.

Methods

Full-thickness osteochondral explants (n = 34) were obtained from tibial plateaus of 14 patients undergoing total knee replacement. Samples were graded histologically as normal (n = 6), mild (n = 18), moderate (n = 6), and severe OA (n = 4). Biomechanical testing was performed with a high-dynamic closed-loop indentation system using a porous indenter. Five creep-recovery cycles were applied under controlled load (0.01–0.196N); the third cycle was analyzed for creep, creep rate, recovery, recovery rate and stiffness.

Results

Normal and mild OA cartilage showed notably less creep strain than moderate OA (11.13 ± 3.84% vs. 12.45 ± 6.06% vs. 36.74 ± 25.75%; p < 0.05). Recovery after 60 s was 96.0 ± 2.8% in normal, 96.5 ± 5.0% in mild, and 95.8 ± 24.2% in moderate OA. Recovery rates were highest during the first second and significantly lower in moderate compared to normal and mild OA (p < 0.05). Severe OA samples displayed advanced degeneration, precluding biomechanical analysis.

Conclusion

The viscoelastic recovery of human cartilage is significantly impaired in moderate OA, whereas normal and mildly degenerated tissue retain nearly complete restoration. Creep-recovery testing offers a sensitive functional marker for cartilage integrity and degeneration, supporting early detection of OA-related changes and evaluation of regenerative strategies.