Twisted your knee? Heard a pop? How to tell what you've injured and when to seek treatment

Your knees are some of the most hardworking joints in your body. They don’t just support your weight, they also absorb the impact of every step you take, which according to studies, is about 2.5 to 2.8 times your body weight.Every time you run, you’re subjecting your knees to six to eight times your body weight – with each leg bearing the load around 500 to 700 times for every mile (or 1.6km) you run. Trouble is, you don’t make it easier on your knees. Weight gain is one of the most common ways you add to their load; for every additional kilogram gained, the pressure on the knees increases by around four times. And that’s not including the punishing movements you put your knees through, like pivoting and making sudden changes in direction, common when playing sports – and increasingly experienced at CrossFit and Hyrox events, said Dr Francis Wong Keng Lin, an orthopaedic surgeon-scientist from Oxford Cartilage & Sports Centre.

(Photo: Pexels/Funkcinės Terapijos Centra)

You don’t have to be sporty to have heard of meniscus injuries, and tears in the ACL (short for anterior cruciate ligament) or MCL (short for medial collateral ligament). Neither does age play a part. “We see meniscus tears in everyone from young athletes to middle-aged active adults and even in elderly patients,” said Dr Wong.WHAT IS THE ANATOMY OF THE KNEE?Each knee has two menisci and four major stabilising ligaments, explained Adjunct Assistant Professor Wang Ming, a consultant with Division of Sports, Shoulder & Elbow Surgery at Alexandra Hospital and National University Hospital.The two menisci are the shock absorbers, and they’re located on the inner side of the knee (medial meniscus) and the outer side (lateral meniscus), continued Adj Asst Prof Wang.“These are crescent-shaped structures of specialised fibrocartilage that sit between the femur (thigh bone) and tibia (shin bone). Without healthy menisci, the forces transmitted through the knee become concentrated over a small area, increasing the risk of cartilage damage and osteoarthritis over time.”But don’t confuse the meniscus with the kneecap, Adj Asst Prof Wang highlighted. Known medically as the patella, the kneecap is a small bone located at the front of the knee that acts as a pulley to straighten your knee. “In contrast, the menisci are located deep within the knee joint between the femur and tibia, and function primarily as shock absorbers and load distributors.”