Say Goodbye to Knee Pain

Chapter 1 Anatomy of the Knee:The Body's Complex Joint Jonathan is a young techie who knows all the parts of a computer, flat-screen television, mobile phone, and other miracles of the information age. The anatomy of these machines is easy for him to understand. He is well versed in gigabytes, Wi-Fi, motherboards, firewalls, Bluetooth, and RAM. However, when Jonathan's doctor told him that his persistent knee pain was caused by subluxation of his patella, he was clueless about such a simple yet important part of his own anatomy -- the groove in which his kneecap glides. Perhaps his doctor should have compared it to the space bar on his computer keyboard, so he would understand why proper tracking in this groove is so important.Jonathan is not alone. Many people know a lot more about the anatomy of technology than they do about their own bodies -- the most precious "machine" they have. Your knee is your body's most complex joint, a crucial component of what makes you mobile, yet you might be hardpressed to name parts of your knee beyond kneecap or tendon. There are other key components that you need to know about so you can maintain your knees in optimum health. Do you know how ligaments provide stability to your knees? Can you identify the two types of lubrication and cushioning that protect your knees? Would you be able to identify what is wrong if your knee pain is on the outside or inside of your knee, or in front? In order to prevent or treat any kind of knee pain, you need to know what makes your knees tick, literally and figuratively.Your knees are built to carry your weight and hold up to a lifetime of walking, running, jumping, dancing, and all that you do in an upright or bent position. There is tremendous variability in the knee's response to activity, and this can be influenced by age, weight, gender, and genetics. Knees are vulnerable to damage from falls or sudden twisting motions, and are injured, on average, more frequently than other joints. Because your knee is such a complex joint, this chapter will help you understand the structure of your knees and what makes them prone to injury.The motion of your knee is complex. It is somewhat like the hinge of a door, moving backward and forward, and like the elbow, it is capable of limited rotation. The knee is made of three bones held together by ligaments and works in coordination with muscles, tendons, cartilage, bursae, synovial fluid, and nerves. Your femur, the bone in your thigh, makes up the top part of the knee, and your tibia, the bone in your shin, the lower part. The third bone is the kneecap, also called the patella, which slides in a groove on the lower end of your thighbone. A fourth bone, the fibula, is a long narrow bone adjacent to your tibia that is connected by a variety of soft tissue structures. The ends of the femur, tibia, and fibula and the back of the patella are lined with articular cartilage, which provides a smooth gliding surface for motion. THE PATELLA: KNEECAP Your patella is the small triangular bone in the front of your knee. The back of the patella is lined with articular cartilage so that it can glide smoothly in the groove located at the end of your femur. This is the trochlear groove. When you bend and straighten your knee, the patella moves up and down in this groove. Ideally, the patella remains centered in the groove as the knee bends and extends.Your quadriceps muscles in the front of the thigh, via the quadriceps tendon, attach directly to the upper edge of the kneecap and help to keep it in its groove by exerting a balanced pull on the patella. Any imbalance in these structures, such as muscle weakness or tightness, has the potential to cause patellofemoral problems, including pain or maltracking. The patella is also stabilized by the retinaculum, which are medial and lateral bands of connective tissue that span from the patelBetancourt, Marian is the author of 'Say Goodbye to Knee Pain ', published 2007 under ISBN 9781416540595 and ISBN 1416540598.