COMP and rheumatoid arthritis: Indeed, these assumptions have been employed by other research groups exploring exercise and COMP relationship in joint health.27,28 Furthermore, serum COMP has also been utilized as a reliable prognostic marker for degenerative diseases that impact articular cartilage health, like osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA).26 Taken together, these reports support the notion that an assessment of the serum concentrations of COMP during exercise can be used as a metric of stress-induced cartilage breakdown in the joint.