Injured of knee

Introduction
Knee joint is a complex joint in the body. The
problems relating to it are also complex. Here
dislocation is not common but injuries to its various
ligaments poses severe problems to the patient. An
unstable knee can spell doom to the well-being of a
person. Meniscal injuries and fracture patella can
further compound problems. It is imperative to
know how your knee joint is structured before
attempting to know about the injuries related to it.
The knee joint speaks
You will have to agree with me that I am the most
remarkable joint in the body by any engineering standards.
Being the most heavily stressed joint in the body, I have
amalgamated two apparently incompatible properties of
stability and mobility. During complete extension, I am
very stable, and during flexion, I am very mobile. I have a
hinge joint between the lower end of femur and upper end
of tibia and a saddle joint between the patella and the
femur. Hence, I am rightly called a compound synovial
joint.
I am heavily dependent for stability on the following
ligaments.
Medial side: Here in the anterior third doctor supported by
the anterior capsule and extensor retinaculum, in the
middle third by the superficial and deep layers of tibial
collateral ligament, in the posterior third the capsule is
reinforced by posterior oblique ligament, expansions from
semitendinosus, etc.
Lateral side: In the anterior third, capsule and the lateral
extensor retinaculum; in the middle third, the iliotibial band;
in the posterior third by the arcuate complex formed by
fibular collateral ligament, and a slip from the popliteus,
biceps femoris, etc.
Anteroposterior stability: For this, I have two cruciate
ligaments: One anterior and the other posterior who are
the primary stabilizers in the anteroposterior plane.
Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) restrains me during
anterior glide. It has two main functional components, the
smaller anteromedial bundle supports me best in flexion
and the larger poster lateral bundle supports me best in
extension. Both are taut at full extension. Posterior cruciate
ligament (PCL) is thicker and is approximately twice as
strong as anterior either cruciate or medial collateral
ligaments. It restrains me mainly during the posterior glide
and is under tension throughout the whole range of
movements.
I have two wonderful structures in the form of menisci
whose structure and function are discussed in the section
on menisci injury.
Knee stability depends upon
• Mechanical axes of the joint.
• The bony contours.
• Extra-articular stabilizers (synovium, capsules,
collaterals, muscles and tendons).
• Intra-articular stabilizers (menisci and cruciates).
246 Regional Traumatology.