The Posterior Cruciate Ligament ( Acl ) Essay

1204 Words Nov 20th, 2016 5 Pages
The Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL) is located in the knee behind the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL). It is the strongest ligament in the knee and is important in knee stability. The two cruciate ligaments which cross each other to form an “X”, control the back and forth motion of your knee. A ligament is a tough, relatively inelastic band of tissue that connects one bone to another. As one of five ligaments in the knee, the PCL connects the femur to the tibia and prevents the tibia from sliding backwards. More specifically, the PCL helps to maintain proper alignment of the femur and tibia and keeps them in place so that it doesn 't slip over the femur and cause the knee to buckle, lock, or collapse. It also helps to prevent the tibia from twisting outwards.

The Knee is a very complex part of the body. With many ligaments, muscles and bones all in a single joint, it takes contributions from each component to create a functional knee. As mentioned before, there are five ligaments in the knee, posterior cruciate ligament, anterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament, lateral collateral ligament and the patellar ligament. Bones that make up the knee are the femur, patella, tibia and fibula. Muscles surrounding the knee include the quadriceps, hamstrings, and the muscles of the calf.

The posterior cruciate ligament can be injured by awkwardly landing or falling hard on a bent knee or a direct blow to a contracted knee. The most common mechanism of injury of…

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