Introduction: Healthcare professionals often deal with musculoskeletal disorders. The knee joint is the intermediate and the largest joint of the lower limb which has a complex anatomical structure and one of the most powerful muscles, m. quadriceps femoris, located in front of it. The joint has an important role not only when performing various types of movement (e.g., walking, running, etc.), but also while resting and maintaining upright posture when body weight forces are being transmitted to the ground and vice versa. Due to heavy loading, the knee joint injuries are common. Therefore, it is necessary to understand its anatomical properties, knee joint biomechanics and muscle activity for a proper injury treatment and rehabilitation. Purpose: The aim of diploma work is to review the available academic literature regarding the knee joint biomechanics and muscle activity on the joint in Slovene and English language. Methods: The data presented in diploma work were collected from different online databases, regardless the date of publication: CINAHL, Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, PubMed, Google Učenjak. Slovenian Library Information System (COBISS.SI) was used to search for reference sources, using keywords and phrases in Slovene and English. Results and discussion: The knee joint is a combination of hinge and trochoid joints, its dominant movements are flexion and extension, whereas limited internal and external axial rotation, anteroposterior translation and adduction-abduction are possible as well. Muscles acting upon the knee joint are generally divided into extensors and flexors, according to their function. The main extensor is the anterior thigh muscle quadriceps femoris, which is composed of four muscles (rectus femoris, vastus medialis, vastus intermedius, vastus lateralis). The main flexors are the posterior thigh muscles (biceps femoris, semimembranosus, semitendinosus), which are also the extensors of the hip joint. Weak flexors are the anterior thigh muscle sartorius, medial thigh muscle gracilis, and two posterior crural muscles, popliteus and gastrocnemius. The flexors are responsible for axial rotation in the knee joint. These muscles are also important dynamic stabilizers of the knee joint. Conclusion: The knee joint muscles are important for the joint biomechanics. They act as power generators, which produce bone movement in the joint, necessary for everyday activities, and are important dynamic stabilizers of the joint as well, acting together with the passive joint stabilizers (menisci, ligaments, and joint capsule).
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