By David Keil • August 18th, 2006

In Part 1 of this article we left off looking at the deepest, most intrinsic structures that make the knee function as it does. In this part of the article we'll continue to look at another deep structure, the meniscus and also talk about some of the soft-tissues (muscles and ligaments) that affect this joint and how it all fits into our yoga practice.

Meniscus
The menisci (plural) are two semi-circular piece of additional cartilage attached to the very top, almost flat area of the tibia. There is one on either side, hence the terms medial meniscus (inside) and lateral meniscus (outside) of the knee. They also have what are known as "horns" and for each meniscus there is both an anterior (front) and posterior (back) horn. The horn is the rounded end that is facing the middle of the tibia.

These two additional pieces of cartilage have a few different purposes in the knee. First, because of their shape they create a deeper cup for the knobby ends of the femur to meet the relatively flat plateau of the tibia, creating additional stability. Because they are also flexible they also play a role in absorption of shock and force coming through the knee joint. Finally the meniscus also helps with the functional movements that happen at the knee joint (like flexion and extension).

Instead of being completely fixed in place, the menisci actually move and distort in shape based on the movements being performed by the knee joint. Every time the knee flexes the meniscus must slide back on top of the tibia to help keep those knobby ends on the tibia. In extension, the opposite happens. Rotations of the knee also force the menisci to move and shift according to the direction of rotation.

The most common meniscus to tear is the medial meniscus. Although in size it is slightly larger than the lateral meniscus it has less mobility than its lateral counterpart. This inherent tightness seems to be part of why it is the most common one to be torn. ...

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Location:  Miami, US

David Keil was introduced to yoga in 1989 by his Tai Chi Chuan  teacher. Both the Tai Chi and Yoga practice at the ripe age of 17 began his research into his own mind-body connections. As...