01/11/2025
Knee Ligament Anatomy
Your knee contains an incredible team of ligamentous superheroes working together to keep you moving:
🔹PCL (Posterior Cruciate Ligament) - Hulking strength, twice as strong as the ACL and serves as the primary posterior restraint of the tibia. This powerhouse ligament is thicker than your thumb and rarely tears due to its exceptional durability
🔹ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) - As the most famous, your ACL controls those complex pivot and cutting movements; most reconstructed ligament with >400,000 injuries yearly; crosses over the PCL forming “X” pattern for Anterior-Posterior stability
🔹MCL (Medial Collateral Ligament) - Like Captain America’s shield, MCL is the widest + flattest ligament consisting of 6 separate bands that guard your inner knee - impressive healing capacity when injured
🔹LCL (Lateral Collateral Ligament) - Stealth precision, your LCL is the thinnest major ligament w/ a sleek, cord-like design and works independently (not connecting to the meniscus)
🔹Patellar Ligament - actually a tendon disguised as a ligament, transforming quadriceps muscle power into leg movement as your strongest front-of-knee structure
🔹ALL (Anterolateral Ligament) - Only described since 2013, your ALL provides targeted rotational control; thinner than dental floss and not present in everyone.
🔹Transverse Ligament - Despite being only ~20mm long, this tiny connector links both menisci together helping stabilize yopur entire knee system
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