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Hip Anatomy

By Johnny Martin, Graduate Assistant The hip joint is one of the most important and largest joints within the body. It is the connection between your femur and your pelvis. This connection between the two bone segments creates what is called a ball-and-socket joint. The femur, being the longest bone in the body, has a rounded top. This rounded top fits into the socket of the acetabulum and provides support for your legs to hold your body upright. The size of the femur head is about 48 – 55mm, which is the size of an apple.

DEALING WITH LIMITED MOBILITY AND KNEE PAIN

Lack of mobility and pain in the knee can limit your ability to be physically active. Often, individuals will discontinue physical activity due to the belief that it will only worsen the situation. The opposite is true. Necessary metabolic processes in joint cartilage are stimulated by movement. 

Knee Mobility

Do you suffer from knee pain with certain movements? A lot of times, pain in the knee can be created from instability in the knee. Check out this video from Squat University addressing a great exercise to build knee stability and reduce knee pain which can get you back to exercising the way you want to:

Stable Knees

As Aram posted on Tuesday, knee stability is linked to hip/glute strength. When discussing joint stability it is important to go upstream (hips) and down stream (ankles). We talked about ankle stability here and here.

Knee Stability

By: Aram Kumar, BA Exercise Science, CSCS

Knee Strength

By Shania Rayford The knee is a very important joint in the body that is responsible for a lot of normal daily activities like walking or standing up. It is important to keep knees healthy & strong to maintain independence as we age and become more prone to arthritis and other chronic diseases. There are various muscles around the knee that can be strengthened through exercise to increase the outer protection of the joint. Those muscles include the quadriceps, hamstrings, gastrocnemius (calf), and hip flexors.

Ligaments of the Knee

by Dalton Harris, CPT The knee is comprised of 4 different ligaments.  Ligaments are important for maintaining the structure of the knee.  They stabilize the jointand connect bone to bone.  In particular, the knee has the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), medial collateral ligament (MCL), and the later collateral ligament (LCL).  These ligaments help to aid the connection of the tibia to the femur (ACL, PCL, and MCL).  The LCL is important in connecting the fibula to the femur. 

Knee Anatomy

By Johnathan Martin The knee is the largest joint in the body that connects the femur to your tibia. Like most joints in the body, it contains ligaments, muscles, carriage, and nerves. It is known as a synovial joint, which means that they are freely mobile and are made up of a joint cavity in one bone that fits into another bone. The knee is a specific type of synovial joint, known as a hinge joint. A hinge joint serves to allow motion primarily in one plane. It also means it is made up of two or more bones covered by cartilage and lubricated by synovial fluid.  

Foot and Ankle Mobility

By Chadd McFarland, CPT, EIM Ankle mobility refers to the flexibility of the ankle joint and its surrounding muscles and tendons. When your ankle is flexible, you have a greater range of motion during your activities.  If your ankles are weak, or if you’d like to boost your sports performance, ankle exercises and stretching can improve your mobility and strength. 

Ankle Mobility

Did you know that one of the leading causes of poor squat form is ankle mobility? Check out this video from Squat University on YouTube. Within the video you will find an at home test for you to check your ankle mobility as well as a few exercises to increase the range of motion your ankle is capable of obtaining.