By: Emily Drake & Baylie Wilson

 Functional: Diarthroses (freely moving)  Structural: Synovial joint (filled with synovial fluid)  The knee joint is a hinge type synovial joint  Allows for flexion and extension  formed by articulations between the patella, femur and tibia  The shape of the knee joint makes it weak so it relies on muscles and ligaments for stability

 Medial and lateral menisci are fibrocartilage structures in the knee that serve two functions: 1. increase stability of the joint. 2. To act as shock absorbers.  They are C shaped on both the lateral and the medial condyles  The Menisci keep your knee steady by balancing your weight across the knee  The lateral meniscus is smaller making it fairly mobile

 A tear in the fibrocartilage  Usually caused by twisting or turning quickly, often with the foot planted and the knee is bent  Minor tear  Slight pain and swelling  Usually goes away on its own in 2-3 weeks with rest and ice  Moderate tear  Pain at the side or center of your knee  Swelling gets worse over 2 or 3 days  Can heal itself in 1 or 2 weeks with rest and ice  Severe tear  Pieces of the meniscus move around in joint  May not be able to straighten it  Swell and become stiff  Surgery may or may not fix the tear

 Anterior Cruciate Ligament and Posterior Cruciate Ligament cross each other to connect the femur and the tibia  ACL  Attached at the anterior region of the tibia and the posterior region of the femur in the intercondylar fossa  It prevents anterior dislocation of the tibia onto the femur.  PCL  Attached at the posterior region of the tibia, and anterior of the femur in the intercondylar fossa  It prevents posterior dislocation of the tibia onto the femur.

 A partial or complete tear in the ligament  ACL tear  Caused by  Twisting your knee with the foot planted  Getting hit on the knee  Extending the knee too far  Jumping and landing on a flexed knee  Stopping suddenly when running  Treatment  Surgery with ligament graft from the hamstring or Achilles to replace the ACL  PCL tear  Caused by  Hitting the knee  Falling on the knee while it's bent  Treatment  Physical therapy  Graft surgery

 Two strap-like ligaments  They act to stabilize the hinge motion of the knee, preventing any medial or lateral movement  Tibial (medial) collateral ligament  A wide and flat ligament, found on the medial side of the joint. Proximally, it attaches to the medial epicondyle of the femur, distally it attaches to the medal surface of the tibia.  Fibular (lateral) collateral ligament  Thinner and rounder than the tibial collateral, this attaches proximally to the lateral epicondyle of the femur, distally it attaches to a depression on the lateral surface of the fibular head.

 A continuation of the quadriceps femoris tendon distal to the patella. It attaches to the tibial tuberosity.  It holds the knee cap in place

 Patellar Subluxation  The kneecap slides abnormally or dislocates along the thigh bone during activity  Knee pain around the patella and shifted patella  Causes  Sudden change in direction  Direct hit to the patella  Treatment  Place knee straight and pop it back in place  Surgery is rare  Ice and elevate

 Knee Joint. (n.d.). Retrieved March 24, 2015, from l  Knee joint. (n.d.). Retrieved March 24, 2015, from  (n.d.). Retrieved March 24, 2015, from management/knee.../picture-of-the-knee