Knee injuries are very common, especially if you take part in sport. Your knee is a complex joint. Sometimes the bones of your knee can be damaged but it's more likely that you will injure soft tissues such as ligaments. Injuries can often be treated with physiotherapy but you may need surgery if you damage your knee more seriously.

The most common knee injuries are:

Knee ligament injuries:
Ligaments connect one bone to another within your joints and help provide stability and flexibility.

Medial collateral ligament:
This is on the inside of your knee and is taut when your leg is straight. It's a strong ligament but can be sprained or completely ruptured (torn) if you twist your straightened leg at the same time as being knocked sideways.

Anterior cruciate ligament:
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) runs from the outside of the back of your thigh bone to the inside of the front (anterior) of your shin bone. Cruciate means in the form of a cross. The two cruciate ligaments cross over each other - the ACL crosses in front of the posterior cruciate ligament. Together they help to stabilise front to back movements of the knee.

Your ACL is about half the strength of your medial collateral ligament (MCL). It's the most commonly injured knee ligament in sport.

Posterior cruciate ligament:
The posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) runs from the inside edge of your thigh bone to the back (posterior) of your shin bone.

Lateral collateral ligament:
The lateral collateral ligament (LCL) is like a thin cord that runs from the bottom of your thigh bone to the top of your shin bone on the outside of your knee. It's not usually damaged on its own and you may need to have it repaired if you are having surgery on other damaged ligaments.

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