Biomechanics of the knee joint

Abstract

The capsular and ligamentous structures as control system of a healthy knee-joint supported by the muscular system are responsible for the rolling and gliding motion of the femoral condyles on the tibial plateau. Both the condyles and the tibial plateau have individually developed but to each other adjusted shapes and fine structures thereby. These structures consist of hyaline cartilage at their three-dimensional surfaces and of closely packed fibrils (lamina splendens) as the final gliding zone for tensile load. The orientation of the collagenous fibres can be made visible by split lines. The chondral surfaces are indirectly in contact to each other and orthogonally stressed at the particular point of contact. The indirect contact of the cartilaginous surfaces happens under interposition of the menisci. The meniscus serves to reduce and equalize the surface pressure by its own projected surface on the one hand and by maintaining of a hydraulic pressure of the synovial fluid on the other hand. Deviations of the condylar position as a result on ligamentous instabilities or ruptures with a following occurring loss of congruence, meniscal lesions or traumatic ruptures lead to a rapid discharge of the synovial fluid under load. The result is a hydraulic head loss with direct contact of the chondral surfaces under stress leading to arthrotic deformations. Severe arthrotic deformations or very much every meniscectomy produce intraarticular lumped loads resulting in a hyper-physiologic chondral pressure and malnutrition thereby. Further on there develop subchondral stress concentrations (caused by the lumped loads) leading to osseous damages, too. MR-pictures can make visible these damages. Chondromalacia, fissure or even chondrolysis are arthroscopically detectable sometimes. As after-effects of deficient knee ligaments occur pathological deviations of the femoral condyles and resulting destructions of the articular surfaces under stress enormously intensified by strongly dynamic stress after ruptures of the cruciate ligaments with a too late muscular compensation. The reconstruction of cruciate ligaments is consequently required from biomechanical view to preserve the physiological position of the articular surfaces.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)