Popliteus strain

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Search Strategy

Key words: Popliteus strain, Popliteus injury.
Information found at the university’s library (books and scientific journals) and websites: Pudmed, Web of Knowledge and google (scholarly articles). Quality of evidence was verified using PEDro.

Definition/Description

The popliteus muscle runs diagonally across the back of the knee joint. This muscle rotates the lower leg and plays a role in bending (flexing) the knee. The popliteus muscle helps to stabilize the back and outer back of the knee and is most often injured in downhill skiing and long-distance running. [1B] A M. Popliteus strain is a muscle strain.

Clinically Relevant Anatomy

The popliteus musculotendinous unit is unique in that the distal muscular attachment is designated the insertion and the tendinous proximal (femoral) attachment is designated the origin. The muscle inserts into a triangular area along the posteromedial aspect of the proximal tibial metaphysic above the soleal line. It forms the floor of the popliteus fossa. The tendon of the popliteus passes through the popliteal hiatus, entering the knee joint and inserting into the lateral femoral condyle at the end of the popliteal sulcus. The main tendinous component inserts into the lateral femoral condyle with variable aponeurotic attachments to the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus and the fibular head. [2A] The insertion into the lateral meniscus retracts and protects the meniscus in flexion, but this function has been disputed. The femoral insertion has a crescent shape, with the superior aspect being concave. [3B] The main tendon of the popliteus muscle consists of anterior and posterior fibers. [4B] The popliteus muscle is innervated by tibial nerves (L4-L5 and S1). [5B

Epidemiology /Etiology

The popliteus muscle functions as a dynamic internal rotator of the tibia. For this reason rupture of the popliteus muscle is usually associated with acute of chronic posterolateral instability of the knee. [4B] The isolated rupture of the popliteus tendon musculotendinous unit is an uncommon injury. [2A]
In some cases the injury is extensive and may include disruption of the arcuate ligament complex, the lateral collateral ligament, both cruciates, and the menisci. [6B,7B]

Characteristics/Clinical Presentation

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