Crusiate Ligaments Sprain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Crusiate Ligaments Sprain - Essay Example However, in complex sprains a large segment of the fibres are torn and the ends of the ligament may have separated from each other. This would result in immense pain as well as instability of the joint and it may require surgical treatment. Rouzier indicates that sprains may be graded according to their severity: According to the Chester Knee Clinic, the knee is a well exposed structure that consists of two joints and made up of three bones namely, the femur, tibia and the patella. They further go on to describe its anatomy in greater detail: The tibio-femoral joint has medial and lateral compartments. The medial and lateral femoral condyles articulate with the medial and lateral tibial plateaus. The patella covers the front of the knee. The patello-femoral joint is the articulation of the patella with the femoral trochlea. All joint surfaces are covered with hyaline articular cartilage. This anatomy of the knee joint offers no real support to the joint's stability. Thus, ligaments are essential in regulating the movement of the knee joint and maintaining its stability. Various stabilizing configurations are brought into play as the knee moves through its full range of motion, giving dynamic stability to the joint (Smith and Moran 1). Avery describes the knee joint as consisting of four essential ligaments that aid in its stabilization. The sides of the joint consist of the medial and lateral collateral ligaments which aid in the side-to-side stability of the joint. In the front of the joint is the anterior crusiate ligament (ACL) which serves to prevent the tibia from sliding forward and rotating during various agile activities such as jumping. Opposite to the ACL is the posterior crusiate ligament (PCL) which prevents the tibia from sliding back. The crusiate ligaments regulate movement as the centre of rotation changes during movement. The presence of the menisci is another important feature for not only do they act as shock absorbers, but they also aid in weight distribution (ehealthMD 1). Incidentally, the crossing of the ACL and PCL in the centre of the knee is what gives rise to the term "crusiate". Representations of these structures courtesy of the Journal of the American Medical Association are as seen in Figures 1 and 2 below. Figure 1: Anatomy of the Right Knee Figure 2: Anatomy of the right knee with ligaments cut. Knee Biomechanics As Elliot explains, clinical biomechanics refers to the research conducted on the actions of walking, tissue mechanics, neuromuscular control and the evaluation of movement when an individual is undergoing rehabilitation when recovering from disease or injury (1). The Chester Knee Clinic provides a comprehensive understanding of the biomechanics of the knee. The bones of the knee joint, unlike the hip joint, are not a close fit to one another. This variation allows for a wider range of motion to occur in order for an individual to carry out daily activities. However, this range of motion is still limited in its inherited stability due to the bony structure of the joint. According to the KneeDoc, "the lack