The human knee is the largest and the most complex joint in the human body. It also happens to be the most vulnerable and heavily used one too, and hence, more prone to injuries.
Problems of the knee can be either injury, mechanical problems, arthritis of various types and problems caused by other health issues. Knee injuries often involve damage to the various components that make up the joint, like the bone and muscles, cartilage, tendons and ligaments.
Five of the most common knee injuries are:
- Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries: this is one of the four ligaments connecting the thigh and the shin bones and an injury is when a tear appears in the ligament, weakening it. This is a very common sports injury and happens when a sudden and violent change of direction of movement occurs.
- Tearing of the Meniscus: the meniscus is a piece of cartilage that acts as a cushion or shock absorber between the thigh and shin bones. It is tough rubbery cartilage, and if the knee is suddenly twisted when weight is put on it, it can be torn or damaged.
- Fractures: as the bones of the knee, including the knee cap, are among the most exposed bones in the body, they can be easily damaged or fractured, if any short, sharp force is applied to them, like a fall or a hard bump into a harder surface. This is worse for people with osteoporosis, a condition where the bone is weak and brittle, as a fracture can occur for seemingly no reason at all.
- Bursitis: The bursae are small liquid-filled bags that cushion the muscles, tendons and bones near the various joints. Bursitis is when the bursae become inflamed due to another injury in the same area.
- Tendinitis / Tendonitis or in our case Patellar Tendinitis: Tendinitis is a condition where one or more of the tendons, the thick fibrous tissue attaching the bones to the muscles, become irritated and inflamed. The patellar tendon is the one which connects the muscles on the front of the thigh to the shin bone. This too is a very common sports injury.
Blog Reviewed By: Dr. Bharani Kumar Dayanandam
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