If you have, twisted, wrenched, fallen on or had impact to your knee, chances are you may have injured some of the many internal structures of your knee.
The bones – the femur (thigh bone), tibia (shin bone), patella (kneecap) and fibula. There is cartilage attached to the bone, as well as the meniscus, which is the shock absorber of the knee.
The ligaments are made up of fibrous tissue which connects bones to other bones (e.g. the femur to the tibia). The knee contains the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments, as well as the medial and lateral collateral ligaments.
The muscles involved in the movement of the knee include the quadriceps, hamstrings, gastrocnemius, popliteus and peroneal muscles. Then there are the tendons (which connect muscle to bone), the bursa (which are involved in smooth movement of the knee joint) and fat pads.
As you can see there are many structures inside your knee that could be damaged or compromised as a result of a traumatic injury, so it is best to come and have the injury properly assessed by your physiotherapist.