without letting the tibia slide too far posterior (Scuderi & Tria, 2010). These are the four most important ligaments in the knee that give the knee the most stability which are shown in Figure 3. Although the patellar ligament aides the stability of the knee, it is not as strong as the rest of the structure. Lastly, the iliotibial band (IT band) runs along the outside of the leg from the hip to the knee. The purpose of this is to limit lateral movement along the knee (Scuderi & Tria, 2010).
Stability is the most important function of the knee. To add to knee stability are the tendons. Tendons are elastic tissues that connect muscles to bones. They are what stabilize the knee and there are two major tendons that run through the knee. …show more content…
A joint is covered in articular cartilage, the name articular coming from the fact that when the bones rub together they are articulating (Scuderi & Tria, 2010). Articular cartilage is fibrous connective tissue that is white, smooth and it covers the ends of the bone and as the joint moves it protects it, as mentioned by Scuderi and Tria (2010). Cartilage is what allows the bones to move more freely against each other. This articular cartilage covers the ends of the femur, top of the tibia and back of the patella, as pictured in Figure 4. It is kept slippery by the synovial fluid that is made by the synovial membrane (Marieb & Hoehn, 2013). The bones move easily since it is smooth and slippery. Finally the menisci are in the middle of the cartilage and those that the shock absorbers. According to the findings of Scuderi and Tria in 2010, in this cartilaginous structure there is the medial meniscus and lateral meniscus. The menisci are made up of fibrous crescent shaped cartilage. The medial meniscus is attached to the tibia on the inside of the knee and the lateral meniscus is attached to the tibia on the outside of the knee. The menisci sit on top of the tibia which allows the weight bearing force to be spread across a larger area and not have that pressure concentrated on one specific area (Scuderi and Tria, 2010). The menisci’s specific structure of a shallow shaped socket for the femur to sit in is another factor that helps stability. The menisci also help the articular cartilage from wearing away at the friction points because it is able to spread that weight bearing across the structure (Marieb & Hoehn,
Stability is the most important function of the knee. To add to knee stability are the tendons. Tendons are elastic tissues that connect muscles to bones. They are what stabilize the knee and there are two major tendons that run through the knee. …show more content…
A joint is covered in articular cartilage, the name articular coming from the fact that when the bones rub together they are articulating (Scuderi & Tria, 2010). Articular cartilage is fibrous connective tissue that is white, smooth and it covers the ends of the bone and as the joint moves it protects it, as mentioned by Scuderi and Tria (2010). Cartilage is what allows the bones to move more freely against each other. This articular cartilage covers the ends of the femur, top of the tibia and back of the patella, as pictured in Figure 4. It is kept slippery by the synovial fluid that is made by the synovial membrane (Marieb & Hoehn, 2013). The bones move easily since it is smooth and slippery. Finally the menisci are in the middle of the cartilage and those that the shock absorbers. According to the findings of Scuderi and Tria in 2010, in this cartilaginous structure there is the medial meniscus and lateral meniscus. The menisci are made up of fibrous crescent shaped cartilage. The medial meniscus is attached to the tibia on the inside of the knee and the lateral meniscus is attached to the tibia on the outside of the knee. The menisci sit on top of the tibia which allows the weight bearing force to be spread across a larger area and not have that pressure concentrated on one specific area (Scuderi and Tria, 2010). The menisci’s specific structure of a shallow shaped socket for the femur to sit in is another factor that helps stability. The menisci also help the articular cartilage from wearing away at the friction points because it is able to spread that weight bearing across the structure (Marieb & Hoehn,