Instead of surgically fusing bones or replacing joints, some doctors are opting to use the new cartilage substitutes.

Cartilage, a rubbery tissue that acts as a cushion between bones of joints, doesn’t come with a lifetime warranty.

When it wears down with age, or is damaged, the pain may be so severe that the patient ends up fully replacing a joint such as a knee. For the big toe, a common option is to surgically fuse bones together, reducing pain but leaving the patient with no motion in the joint.

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