Anatomy

 

Three bones meet to form your knee joint: your thighbone (femur), shinbone (tibia), and kneecap (patella). Your kneecap sits in front of the joint to provide some protection.

Bones are connected to other bones by ligaments. There are four primary ligaments in your knee. They act like strong ropes to hold the bones together and keep your knee stable.

 

Collateral Ligaments

As the name suggests, these are found on the sides of your knee. The medial collateral ligament is on the inside and the lateral collateral ligament is on the outside. They control the sideways motion of your knee and brace it against unusual movement.

 

Cruciate Ligaments

These are found inside your knee joint. They cross each other to form an "X" with the anterior cruciate ligament in front and the posterior cruciate ligament in back. The cruciate ligaments control the back and forth motion of your knee.

 

The anterior cruciate ligament runs diagonally in the middle of the knee. It prevents the tibia from sliding out in front of the femur, as well as provides rotational stability to the knee. This is one of the most commonly injured ligaments of the knee.

 

The Muscles around the knee play an important role in stability and balance of the knee joint. The main groups are the Quadriceps (quads) in the front of the thigh, the hamstrings at the back and the calf muscles.

 

Other than the ligaments and the muscles, there are two moon-shaped cartilage structures called the meniscus, which act like shock-absorbers, increase contact area and distribute forces across the joint evenly. These are commonly injured or can undergo degenerative changes resulting in symptomatic and painful knee joints.

 

Dr Vinod Kumar Abu Dhabi

Sports surgeon Abu Dhabi

Shoulder surgeon Abu Dhabi

NMC Royal Hospital