Tibia fibula driver#

However, dislocation of the PTFJ can sometimes compromise knee joint stability, due to some (variable) shared ligamentous support. Trauma to the knee can leave the PTFJ untouched, and vice versa. If the knee was New York, the PTFJ would be Queens.

Injury to the PTFJ is “an often-forgotten cause of lateral knee pain,” 2 and yet the PTFJ is not really a knee joint - it’s just nearby.

Sarma et al, “Proximal tibiofibular joint: Rendezvous with a forgotten articulation” 1 A neglected cause of lateral knee pain “The human proximal tibiofibular joint mechanics has been largely unknown due to lack of attention by both the clinicians and the anatomists alike.”

Tibia fibula driver#

The PTFJ is obscure and unstudied, overshadowed by the exciting knee joint, and rarely considered in diagnosis - but it can be an important driver of lateral knee pain, or occasionally mistaken for a shin injury. (The distal tibiofibular joint is part of the ankle.) The tiba and fibula are the two main long bones of the lower leg. It connects the top end of the large shin bone (tibia) to the top end of the much smaller leg bone (fibula) beside it. It is a simple joint that does not move much, just a bit of sliding. The proximal tibiofibular joint (PTFJ) is just below the knee on the outside of the leg.