Healthy joint
The knee joint is a synovial joint and connects the femur to the tibia and consists of two joints the tibiofemoral joint, which joins the tibia to the femur and the patellofemoral joining the kneecap to the femur. These two joints work together to form a hinge joint allowing the knee to bend and straighten and to also rotate slightly from side to side.
Muscles
There are two main muscles groups of the knee, the hamstrings, quadriceps and muscles of the calf all work to flex, extend and keep the knee stable and well aligned.
The quadriceps is made of 4 muscles including the vastus medialis, vastus intermedius, vastus lateralis and rectus femoris located on the front of the thigh and is responsible for straightening the leg. These …show more content…
The most common knee injury is an ACL sprain also known as Anterior Cruciate ligament. The ACL runs from the back of the femur to the front of the tibia preventing the tibia from moving forwards and to stabilize the structure of the knee. The ACL prevents excessive twisting, straightening and bending of the knee and once these movements are beyond what the ACL can handle, tearing of the ACL ligament occurs. A ligament is a very strong band of connective tissue, which attaches the bones together. Athletes who participate in a high demanding sport such as basketball they are more than likely to injure their ACL as basketball consists of running, sudden stops, dodging and jumping. Stopping abruptly or changing direction rapidly while running can cause a twisting motion that tears the ACL. There can be a popping or snapping once the ligament is torn and the leg will not be able to bear any weight and the knee may feel loose or unstable. Noticeable swelling may occur from the joint bleeding either instantly or within an hour. An ACL sprain can be classified as a grade 1, 2 or 3 sprains. A grade 1 sprain is when the fibers of the ligament are stretched but no tear has occurred and there is minor swelling and the knee does not feel unstable. A grade 2 sprain is when the ligament is partially torn with moderate swelling and the joint may feel slightly unstable. Then the grade 3 sprain is the biers of the ligament are completely torn into two parts and there is a lot of swelling and the ligament cannot control the movement of the
The knee joint is a synovial joint and connects the femur to the tibia and consists of two joints the tibiofemoral joint, which joins the tibia to the femur and the patellofemoral joining the kneecap to the femur. These two joints work together to form a hinge joint allowing the knee to bend and straighten and to also rotate slightly from side to side.
Muscles
There are two main muscles groups of the knee, the hamstrings, quadriceps and muscles of the calf all work to flex, extend and keep the knee stable and well aligned.
The quadriceps is made of 4 muscles including the vastus medialis, vastus intermedius, vastus lateralis and rectus femoris located on the front of the thigh and is responsible for straightening the leg. These …show more content…
The most common knee injury is an ACL sprain also known as Anterior Cruciate ligament. The ACL runs from the back of the femur to the front of the tibia preventing the tibia from moving forwards and to stabilize the structure of the knee. The ACL prevents excessive twisting, straightening and bending of the knee and once these movements are beyond what the ACL can handle, tearing of the ACL ligament occurs. A ligament is a very strong band of connective tissue, which attaches the bones together. Athletes who participate in a high demanding sport such as basketball they are more than likely to injure their ACL as basketball consists of running, sudden stops, dodging and jumping. Stopping abruptly or changing direction rapidly while running can cause a twisting motion that tears the ACL. There can be a popping or snapping once the ligament is torn and the leg will not be able to bear any weight and the knee may feel loose or unstable. Noticeable swelling may occur from the joint bleeding either instantly or within an hour. An ACL sprain can be classified as a grade 1, 2 or 3 sprains. A grade 1 sprain is when the fibers of the ligament are stretched but no tear has occurred and there is minor swelling and the knee does not feel unstable. A grade 2 sprain is when the ligament is partially torn with moderate swelling and the joint may feel slightly unstable. Then the grade 3 sprain is the biers of the ligament are completely torn into two parts and there is a lot of swelling and the ligament cannot control the movement of the