Is acupuncture recommended for knee troubles, particularly arthrities and cartilage.?

Somewhat, but it's not where I would place my medical care for such a situation, unless it wasn't too bad - too painful.

Depending on he severity of your condition, obviously surgery is an option (just make it your last option).

However, if you are just starting to get bad, you have some amazing supplements that can work wonders.

Read this first:
http://answers.yahoo.com/search/search_r...

Then check this out:
This supplemet is supposed to be the best;

http://www.hihealth.com/shop/product.asp...

Perform your own search for the best prices in your area.

their is a treatment that is used in acupuncture, any good acupuncturist will be able to do it and it has quite a good effect on the injury
surgery is the last option.
seek physical therapy or any other method that is non invasive. for some people who have failed to get any gains from physical therapy or medications, acupuncture is an alternative.
a famous NBA player has been getting acupuncture for plantar fascitiis with great results (of course after traditional approaches were exhausted)
acupuncture can help but try to find someone very experienced from China. I knew a wonderful woman who did amazing work. as for cartilage trouble, depending what it is herbal medicine of traditional chinese medicine might help a lot. the amazing thing about chinese medicine is that it rarely causes side effects but it usually cures other imbalances simultaneously because it is holistic