Knees play a huge part in daily activities.

From high endurance sports to daily workouts, knees take a huge beating. According to a press release from Middle Tennessee Medical Center, a procedure known as a cartilage transplant may be the answer for athletes or active individuals suffering from knee pain caused by deteriorating cartilage in the knee.

Dr. Michael R. Jordan, orthopedic surgeon with MTMC and Tennessee Orthopaedic Alliance, is performing cartilage transplants at MTMC. This procedure can allow athletes the chance to return to their sports without pain and potentially eliminate or reduce the need for a full joint replacement operation in the future.

“A cartilage transplant is performed by either taking cartilage from the patient's own body or from a cadaver/donor cartilage,” according to the release. “When taken from the patient’s body, cartilage cells are usually taken from a low weight-bearing area in the knee in an outpatient procedure known as arthroscopy and then sent to a laboratory to be grown.”

According to the release, cartilage takes about six weeks to grow and can then be transplanted to the area of deteriorating cartilage. When taken from a cadaver, the cartilage is transplanted into the knee of a patient of similar size.

The procedure has been used over the past 12 years, but there are many new techniques which have led to improved outcomes for patients including smaller incisions and being able to use the patient’s own cells.

“After undergoing a cartilage transplant, patients complete a very intensive rehabilitation period after which in many cases they are ready to return to their sports or normal everyday activities,” Jordan said.

Recovery time varies from patient to patient, but the average time for full recovery is about six to 12 months.  

The procedure helped Jacob McNichols, who was referred to Jordan from another physician located in Paris, Tenn., because of the damage to his knee.

“I played football in high school and tore my ACL and meniscus. I had surgery to repair them but the aches and pain resurfaced again while playing football in college,” McNichols explained.

Individuals who may be candidates range from adolescents to middle-age adults. The typical candidate is active with torn or lost cartilage and localized areas of arthritis or injury verses having “global” (arthritis throughout the joint), which typically results in a total joint replacement.

For more information or to schedule an appointment with Jordan, call 615-896-6800 or visit toa.com.

Linebaugh to celebrate 20 years at Civic Plaza

This Friday, the Linebaugh Public Library will celebrate 20 years of being at Civic Plaza, an occasion that offers the opportunity for Rutherford County residents to remember its important role within the community.

Linebaugh staff will be offering special treats to patrons throughout the day in commemoration of the occasion.  

Opening at 105 West Vine St. on June 15, 1992, Linebaugh continued the dream sprung from Robert Lasseter’s column in the Rutherford Courier more than 50 years earlier.

His efforts were instrumental in the creation of the library system, inspiring Henry T. Linebaugh, a Florida resident and Murfreesboro native, who read the column, to make a $5,000 donation toward the creation of one in his hometown.

His only stipulation was that it be named for his mother, Mattie V. Linebaugh.

The Linebaugh Public Library was established in the late-1947 and formally opened April 1, 1948, in the old Hale Home at Central Memorial Park with Myla Parsons as librarian.

With an ever-growing population, and after 30 years of being on West College Street, plans began in 1987 for a new building with the Christy-Houston Foundation giving the library a grant for $1.5 million.

The new location of Linebaugh Library at 105 W. Vine St. in the Civic Plaza, a 34,000-square foot facility, was opened on June 15, 1992, under the leadership of Director Briley Adcock.

Now serving as the main library of the four branches that make up the Linebaugh Public Library System, librarian Carol Ghattas said she sees Linebaugh “as the main hub of the airline industry or the transit service.”

“It is where the materials are received and processed for all our system, the main source for the flow of information, and hopefully, the example for all future branches,” Ghattas said.