More Effective Joint

For this project, I tried to redesign part of the knee joint specifically the medial plica that lies within the knee joint to help prevent plica knee syndrome. I had to research and gather many different information about this syndrome since I barely knew this even existed. But once I read more about it and how it occurs, I thought about ways to redesign this specific area so there could be less pain or to remove the pain all together.

I am trying to redesign part of the knee joint. Plica is a fold within the lining of the knee joint. The inner lining of the knee joint is made up of synovial tissue and the folds found within the lining helps the knee joint move without restriction (Houston Methodist Leading Medicine). It is able to accomplish such task because the plica’s main function is to secrete synovial fluid (Singapore Sports and Orthopaedics Clinic).There are four plica folds found within the knee but only one of them causes trouble. The medial plica attaches to the bottom of the patella and helps connect it to the femur.

One of the reasons that causes plica knee syndrome is irritation caused by certain movements that require the repeated movement of bending and straightening of the knee like biking, running or stair climbing. Because of the irritation that occurs, the plica becomes much thicker and will rub against the thigh bone where it connects every time the kneecap moves. But, plica knee syndrome does not just appear on its’ own, it is often associated with other knee injuries or is triggered by a injury to the knee (PhysioWorks).

Before

After 

The whole problem with plica knee syndrome is excessive inflammation that occurs and the goal is to reduce the amount of inflammation and pain at the site (Singapore Sports and Orthopaedics Clinic). The medial plica can be removed altogether but the whole idea of this assignment would not to remove the whole thing altogether because everything in the body plays an integral role in everyday functions. A way to reduce inflammation that occurs at the site of the medial plica is to increase synovial fluid around the area because the plica is to produce synovial fluid and a defect to it will change the amount of fluid present (U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institute of Health). Without the fluid present, the friction between synovial joints will increase and create more problems. The synovial cavity around the knee area could be increased slightly to have more synovial fluid within the area. Another solution to this problem is to decrease the size of the medial plica overall. The smaller the surface are that this membrane takes up, the chances of it rubbing onto the thighbone will be less and could help reduce inflammation at the knee.

I came up with the design after thinking about how to reduce inflammation within the plica and then realizing that the friction that occurs triggers the plica to become inflamed. With the increased amount of fluid present, there will be less friction that can happen when the medial plica moves with movement of the knee hopefully preventing inflammation at the site. But again, our bodies are built a certain way so a increased amount of synovial fluid could throw off the rest of the body. Also, reducing the size of the medial plica could prove to be disproportionate to the other three plica that are located within the knee joint. This could throw off the knee and could cause it to become weaker over time or become less flexible.  

To minimize plica syndrome from reappearing, it is important to fix other knee injuries that could could potentially weaken the knee from further use. Also, It is important to  strengthen the muscles around the knee as well as maintain flexibility in the knee area as we can’t physically change the anatomy of our bodies. Also, weight management may be considered to put less pressure on the joints within the lower body (PhysioWorks).

Overall, this assignment was pretty interesting as we got to learn more about the dysfunctions that happen to our bones, joints, or muscles. Also, it really required us to think out of the box and gather information about joints, muscle, and bones that we learned in class and apply it to something in real life. This assignment wasn’t like any other one where we just absorbed information but we had to rely on the information and display it in a different format.

Works Cited

Houston Methodist Leading Medicine. www.houstonmethodist.org/orthopedics/where-does-it-hurt/knee/plica-syndrome/.

Physio Works. physioworks.com.au/injuries-conditions-1/plica-syndrome.

“Plica Syndrome.” Orthopedic Associates, www.oamortho.com/pdf/plica-syndrome.pdf.

Singapore Sports and Orthopaedics Clinic. www.orthopaedics.com.sg/conditions/knee-pain/plica-syndrome.

U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institute of Health. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2684145/.