Knee Flashcards
Distal Femur
Lateral/medial condyles
Intercondylar notch/groove - separates condyles posteriorly - cruciate ligaments travel through
Knee joint - tibiofemoral and patella-femoral joint
Condyles are continuous anteriorly
Medial condyle travels little further distally than does lateral condyle
Tibia sits more horizontal - puts femur in angle
Tibial Articulation
Lateral/medial tibial plateaus and condyles
Medial has a larger surface area (allows the femur to go more anteriorly)
Patella
Sesamoid bone
Base superiorly, apex inferiorly
Anterior surface - convex in all directions
Posterior surface - covered by articular cartilage
Embedded in the quad tendon
Articular surface inserts w/ intercondylar groover
Patella Functions - Primary Function
Increase angle of application (moment arm of quads)
Look at CoR - patella increases the moment arm
Remove patella - lose MA
Lengthens quads - on slack
Position of active insufficiency when patella is removed (muscle contracts so much - can’t extend knee)
Stand in ext - least force from quads
Patella Functions - Secondary Function
Protect quads tendon from excessive friction
Normal Alignment
Shaft of femur slightly medial
Medial condyle is longer, which is why shaft toward midline is longer
Normally sit in valgus - tibia going away in midline
Genu valgum and varus - frontal plane angles
Genu Valgum
Slight - normal
Angle is <170 degrees is excessive
Knock kneed
Knee femur closer together, tibia further apart
M/L jt line - symmetrical
Medical surface is further away (unweighting medial jt line) and lateral is closer together (closing down on lateral jt line - more force)
Static valgum - standing up straight
Dynamic algum - go into this position w/ mvt
Genu Varum
Angle is greater than 180 degrees is excessive
Bow leg
Anything beyond straight
Abnormal
Joint Capsule
Large, complexly attached and lax w/ several recesses
Reinforced posteriorly by muscles and popliteal ligaments, M/L by collateral ligaments
Vastus medals and vastus lateralis, MPFL (medial patella femoral ligament), retinacula anteriorly
Ligamens, fascia, muscle that reinforce knee capsule
Provides stability to joint
Menisci
Crescent shaped, fibrocartilaginous discs
Medial is semicircular, lateral is circular
Thick peripherally, thin centrally
Blood supply greatest in periphery
Receives blood flow from papillary vessels and synovial membrane (red red zone, red white zone, white white zone)
Anterior and posterior horns anchor at the end
Secondary attachments - quads (bilaterally), semimembranosus (bilaterally), popliteus to lateral only
Menisci - Functions
Primary function - reduce compressive stress, stabilize jt during motion
Secondary function - lubricate articular cartilage, proprioception, guide arthrokinematics
Osteokinematics
2 DOF
Flex/ext in sagittal plane - M/L AoR (migrating)
IR/ER in horizontal plane (if knee is slightly flexed)
Flex - 0 to 135 degrees
Ext - 0 to 15 degrees
IR - 20 to 30 degrees
ER - 30 to 40 degrees
Coupled Motion
Flex/ext don’t occur as pure sagittal plane motions
Axis is oblique
Tibia moves from position of slightly lateral to femur to slightly medial to femur in full flex
One motion occurs, obligatory second motion occurs
At knee jt, coupled motion b/c transverse/sagittal plane motion
As tibia flexes/extends, coupled IR/Er of tibia occurring (extend - tib tub moved laterally - ER) (bend knee - rotate back in - IR)
Tibia IR/ER
Axial rotation - longitudinal/vertical AoR
Increases w/ knee flex
90 degrees of knee flex, 40-45 degrees total of axial rotation
ER: when tibial tuberosity lateral to anterior distal femur
Available ROM increase w/ knee flex
Arthrokinematics - Extension
Tibia (concave) on femur (convex) - tibia rolls and glides anteriorly
Femur on tibia - femoral condyles roll anteriorly and glide posteriorly
Arthrokinematics - Flexion
Opposite of extension
Tibia on femur - rolls and glides posteriorly
Femur on tibia - femoral condyles roll posteriorly and glide anteriorly
Tibia must 1st IR to unlock when going from ext to flex
Tibia on femur - popliteus initiates tibial IR
Femur on tibia - popliteus initiates femoral ER
Femoral IR results in sane mvt as tibial ER
Screw Home (Locking) Mechanism
Obligatory ER of tibia during TKE (not voluntary or produced muscular forces)
Jt arthrology dictates arthrokinematics during final 30 degree KE
Flex force “unlocks” by medially rotating
Medial epicondyle of tibia extends further than lateral epicondyle (femur/tibia gliding, medial femur is going to extend more anteriorly - medial concavity is deeper)
Dictated by size of medial epicondyle
Ligaments
Collateral - primarily provide frontal plane stability against varus/valgus force (MCL/LCL)
Cruciate - provide multiplanar stability @ knee (ACL/PCL)