General Considerations: Anatomy of the Knees: Function & Issues

• Proactively addressing conditions such as knee hyperextension, knock knees and bow legs can optimize knee health and may prevent future problems. See below for details.
• If a person using the phrase “locked knees” is referring to hyperextension, see more below. More precisely, it refers to an action that relaxes the hamstrings. Expert David Coulter explains:

Locked Knees

Most of us are only vaguely aware that we can balance our weight on top of the relaxed thighs, but everyone learns about knees in junior high school cafeteria lines when someone sneaks up behind you and buckles your knee as you are leaning on one leg. Your ensuing collapse shows you clearly that were depending on the locked knee joint to hold you up and that your tormentor caught your relaxed muscles off guard. – H. David Coulter