Proprioceptive function of the cruciate complex of the knee joint (literature review)

The question of the role of proprioceptive sensitivity in ensuring the normal kinematics of the joints, including the knee, has increasingly attracted the attention of researchers in recent decades. The position on the significance of intra-articular receptors and the concept of proprioception are not new [2, 3]. At the end of the 19th century, Duchenne was one of the first to point out the clinical significance of articular sensitivity. The term "proprioception" was introduced by Sherrington in 1906 [57]. Abbott et al. [4] and Gardner [27] found that the ligaments of the knee joint have a rich sensory innervation that acts as the first link in the kinematic chain. Abbott noted that the impulses that arise in the ligaments are transmitted through the central nervous system to the muscles and this allows you to establish normal, uniform, coordinated movements. Pathologically strong impulses arising from excessive stretching of the ligaments cause contraction of the conjugate muscle group, thereby preventing damage to the soft tissue component of the knee joint.