- Anatomy
- Ligaments
Ligaments
Ligaments
The ligaments keep the bones of a joint firmly connected and play an important role in the stability and guidance of joint movements.
Ligaments are reinforcements of the joint capsule. In medical terminology, they are also called ligaments. The best-known ligaments are the ankle ligaments, knee ligaments, and cruciate ligaments. These are relatively often injured.
Function of the ligaments
Ligaments guide and brake joint movements. They therefore play an important role in a joint's stability. This stability is passive. That means that, unlike a muscle, a ligament is not very elastic and cannot contract. This makes ligaments vulnerable to abrupt and abnormal loading. A ligament cannot really stretch and is therefore damaged more quickly. This happens, for example, with a severe ankle sprain.
Ligaments do have ‘sensors’ in their fibers. This allows muscles in the area to be activated to contract immediately in the event of impending overstretching, to protect the ligaments. However, this activation takes time, which means that during abrupt, rapid movements the contraction of the muscles may come too late.
Related topics
- Achilles Tendon
- Anatomy of the Hand
- Anatomy of the Wrist
- Anatomy of the abdominal muscles
- Anatomy of the bones
- Anatomy of the foot
- Anatomy of the spine
- Anatomy of the thigh
- Big toe
- Bursa
- Cartilage
- Central nervous system
- Connective tissue
- Dermatomes
- Hamstrings
- Intervertebral disc
- Joint
- Joint capsule
- Ligaments
- Lungs
- Motor nerve
- Muscles
- Nervous system
- Osteoarthritis
- Pelvic floor muscles
- Peripheral nervous system
- Proprioception
- Rotator cuff
- SI joint
- Sensory nerve
- Skin
- Subscapularis
- Synovial fluid
- Tendons
- Trapezius muscle
- Trigger points