Patella

The patella or the knee bone is a hard, triangular bone that protects the front of the knee joint. The patella is a tiny but very important bone.

Anatomy of the Patella

The tendon of the quadriceps femoris muscle is attached to the top of the patella. This muscle is the large muscle in the front of the upper leg. When you, straighten your lower leg, the quadriceps muscle contract. This pulls the patella upward.

The bottom of the patella is connected to the lower leg by the patella tendon. As the patella is pulled upward, it in turn pulls against the patellar tendon, moving the lower leg into alignment with the upper leg.

Function of the Patella

The main function of the patella is to increase the amount of the torque available by the surrounding muscles. It achieves this by increasing the lever arm of the muscles thus enhancing mechanical advantage.

Moving your body, walking, rising from a crouched position, or lifting a heavy weight, will require a great deal of force. The patella acting as a lever extends the length of the knee joint and acts as a solid base for the tendons to attach to. As the quadriceps contract, the muscle can exert more force and a person is able to stand up more easily, life more weight or kick with more force.

The patella also acts as protection for your muscles, cartilage, ligaments and tendons of the knee joint. The patella at the front of the knee joint, serves as a hard, physical barrier against damage. The patella absorbs shock every time you bang your knees, bang your legs or fall.

Conditions that affect the Patella

There are several common problems associated with the patella. Some of these include:

• Runner’s Knee - Also known as Chondromalacia Patellae occurs because of irritation of the articular cartilage on the undersurface of the kneecap.
• Housemaid’s Knee - Medically known as Prepatellar bursitis is a condition of swelling and inflammation over the front of the knee. It is common in people who kneel for a long time such as gardeners, and
• Patellar dislocation - This is very painful since the patella does not track evenly within its groove in the femur.

Other common knee cap problems include torn cartilage, osteoarthritis, and anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Treatment of most knee cap problems will normally require rest to avoid adding more pressure to the patella. Other common treatments include physical therapy, ice on the injury, anti-inflammatory medications and surgery.

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