28. Disorders of the knee

Because of its function and construction, the knee joint is one of the body’s most heavily loaded joints. It has great mobility with low intrinsic stability. In fact, the knee joint is really just a sphere (femur condyles) on a plate (tibia plate). The limited intrinsic stability must be compensated for by strong static ligaments (collateral ligaments and cruciate ligaments) and a strong dynamic stabilisation by powerful muscle groups on the ventral side (m. quadriceps) and on the dorsal side (hamstring group) of the upper leg. The leverage and twisting forces acting on the knee can be so great that the stabilising forces cannot neutralise them completely resulting in ligament and meniscal injuries. In addition, osteoarthritis of the knee occurs frequently. As a result, knee joint disorders frequently occur and are often seen in both general and orthopaedic practice. In this chapter, the most relevant disorders are discussed.