Athletic knee conditions

Question 1

What are the main three bones of the knee?

Answer 1

Femur, tibia (shinbone), and patella (kneecap).

Question 2

What is the patellar tendon?

Answer 2

Connects bottom of the patella to the top of the tibia.

Question 3

What are the ligaments of the knee?

Answer 3

Anterior cruciate ligament, posterior cruciate ligament, and the medial and lateral collateral ligaments.

Question 4

What are the meniscus?

Answer 4

Medial and lateral c-shaped pieces of cartilage acting as shock absorbers between the femur and tibia.

Can be easily torn by twisting your knee while bearing weight.

Question 5

What is the tibiofemoral joint?

Answer 5

Hinge synovial joint that joins the distal femur to the proximal tibia. The meniscus absorb shock in this joint.

Question 6

What is the ‘screw-home’ mechanism?

Answer 6

Rotation between the tibia and femur, the key element to knee stability for standing upright.

Question 7

What is the purpose of the ACL?

Answer 7

The cruciate ligaments control the back-and-forth motion of the knee.

ACL runs diagonally in the middle of the knee preventing the tibia sliding out in front of or behind the femur.

Question 8

What is the purpose of the PCL?

Answer 8

PCL runs diagonally (crosses under the acl) along the back of the knee and connects the femur to the top of the tibia.

Much less likely to be injured as incidents and trauma rarely have posterior forces.

Question 9

What is the purpose of the MCL?

Answer 9

The collateral ligaments control sideways movement of the knee.

MCL is on the inside of the knee connecting the femur to the tibia and assists with knee stability.

Question 10

What is the purpose of the LCL?

Answer 10

LCL runs on the outside of the knee connecting the fibula (bone on the outside of lower leg) to the femur.

Question 11

What is the purpose of the patella?

Answer 11

The knee cap protects the knee and connects the muscles in the front of the thigh to the tibia.

Question 12

What is the Q-angle of the knee?

Answer 12

Angle between quadriceps and patellar tendon. Normal Q-angle should fall between 12° and 20°. Men tend to have a smaller Q-angle than women.

Question 13

What is a knee contusion?

Answer 13

Bruised knee. Damaged soft tissues or bone. Following an impact, blood spills into the tendons, tissue, and muscle of the knee.

Question 14

What is a perennial nerve injury?

Answer 14

Results in dysfunction such as decreased sensation, numbness, tingling in the top of the foot or outer part of the leg.

Question 15

What is an intra-patellar bursitis?

Answer 15

A bursa under the large patella tendon. Can be caused by trauma or overuse. Commonly referred to as “jumper’s knee”.

Question 16

What is patellofemoral stress syndrome (PFSS)?

Answer 16

A condition where abnormal rubbing of the patella occurs on the end of the femur. Commonly caused by overuse, particularly running.

Question 17

What is Osgood-Schlatter disease?

Answer 17

A condition that causes pain and swelling between the knee joint, where the patellar tendon attaches to the tibia. May also be inflammation of patellar tendon.