The knee is one of the joints of the body most vulnerable to injury. There are several different reasons for this. For one thing, it is significantly responsible for weight-bearing and movement, which can put a lot of pressure and strain on it. For another, the knee has many components, all of which may be vulnerable to injury. The knee is only designed to bend in one direction, so any motion that forces the joint in another direction is likely to cause injury.
Some knee injuries Oregon are more common than others. Here are a few of those you are most likely to experience at some point.
- Ligament Injuries
There are four ligaments in the knee joint: One in the front, one in the back, and one on either side. The job of the ligaments is to hold the bones of the joint in place and prevent them from moving in the wrong direction. Ligament injuries can result from stretching of the tissue, which is called a sprain, or tearing.
- Dislocations
A dislocation occurs when one of the bones of the knee joint gets forced out of place. Dislocations can be extremely painful. An initial dislocation can put you at risk of recurrent incidences in the future. It is important to reduce a dislocation, i.e., put the bones back into place, before the tissues have a chance to swell and make the reduction more difficult. You should go to the emergency room to have a dislocation reduced. Amateur attempts at reduction may cause further injury.
- Meniscal Tears
On either side of each knee joint is a meniscus, a crescent-shaped piece of cartilage that acts as a shock absorber. Impact or twisting motions of the knee can cause tearing of the meniscus. Depending on where the tear occurs, it may require surgery to correct or be able to heal on its own.
