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Knee Research Paper

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The knee is one of the largest and most complex joints in the body. The knee has two joints the tibia (shin bone) joins the femur (thigh bone) this joint is known as the tibiofemoral joint the second joint is called patellofemoral which are joins between the kneecap and the femur. The patellofemoral and tibiofemoral works together to form the synovial hinge joint this hinge joint allows the knee to rotate a little and move side to side, it also allows the knee to be straight and bend. When standing the thigh (femur) and shin bone (tibia) locks together to form a firm component; when sitting the two bones hardly touch each other. According to HealthPages, there are five main parts of the knee joints which are bones, ligaments, tendons, cartilages …show more content…

The other two small bones that run together with the tibia are called the fibula and patella known as the long thin bone and kneecap. All these four bones are part of the lower limbs and they give the knee its stability, strength, and its flexibility. The main function of ligaments is to attach bones to bones and give the knee its stability and strength. Ligaments are very strong which means they are not very flexibly there are five main ligaments found in the knee the anterior cruciate ligament, posterior cruciate ligament, medial Collateral Ligament, lateral Collateral Ligament, and the patellar ligament. The anterior cruciate ligament which is most commonly known as the ACL is found inside the knee and in front of the PCL posterior cruciate ligament. The ACL attaches to the shin bone (tibia) and the thigh bone (femur) at the center of the knee its function is to limit rotation and forward motion of the shin bone (tibia). The posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) is the strongest ligament out of the rest of the ligaments found in the knee it attaches the shine and the femur just like the ACL; it is also found deep inside the knee behind the …show more content…

The third type of ligament found in the knee is the medial collateral ligament also known as tibial collateral ligament this ligament limits sideway motion of the knee it attaches the medial side of the femur (thigh) to the medial side of the tibia (shin bone). The lateral collateral ligament attaches the side of the femur (thigh) to the lateral side of the fibula (long thine bone) and it limits sideways motion of the knee it is also called fibular collateral ligament (Schmidler). The last ligament found in the knee is the patellar ligament this ligament attaches the kneecap to the tibia (shin bone). Schmidler stated, “The pair of collateral ligaments keep the knee from moving too far side-to-side. The cruciate ligaments crisscross each other in the center of the knee. They allow the tibia to “swing” back and forth under the femur without the tibia sliding too far forward or backward under the femur.” The four ligament mentioned by Schmidler are the most vital structures in keeping the knees stability the patellar ligament also helps with stability. Another major part that makes up the knee is tendons. Tendons provide an attachment of muscle to bones they are elastic tissues and also tendons aid to alleviate the

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