Knee pain? Maybe you have a fabella

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According to an expert from Imperial College London, scientists who thought evolution was losing their evolution seem to be making a comeback.

The fabella is found in some people buried in the tendon just behind their knee.

Doctors think it's totally useless and you can live happily without it – a lot of people do it.

However, people with arthritis seem more likely to possess a fabella.

The Imperial College team published its findings in the Journal of Anatomy.

What is it?

In medical terms, fabella – which means small bean – is a sesamoid bone, which means that it develops in the tendon of a muscle, just like the patella or patella.

Is it common?

Dr. Michael Berthaume and colleagues at Imperial's Department of Bioengineering examined knee medical literature over 150 years old in 27 countries, including the United Kingdom.

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Between 1918 and 2018, rumors that fabella would have existed in the knee increased to the point that it is now thought that it is three times more prevalent than it was 100 years ago.

The analysis of the scientists showed that in 1918, the fabelles were present in 11% of the world population and that in 2018, they were present in 39% of the cases.

The researchers made their estimates with the help of medical analyzes and medical journal results from a growing world population.

Legend

Fabella is found in the tissues behind the patella

Why do some of us have it?

Dr. Berthaume stated that no one really knew the answer to this question because it had never been the subject of research.

"Fabella can behave like other sesamoid bones to help reduce friction in the tendons, to redirect muscle forces or, as in the case of the patella, to increase the mechanical strength of this muscle," he said. -he declares.

"Or it could do nothing at all."

Do we need it?

In old world monkeys, fabella can serve as a patella, thus increasing the muscle's mechanical advantage.

But when the ancestors of great apes and humans evolved, it seemed to disappear.

Now that he's back, it's only causing us problems, experts say.

People with osteoarthritis of the knee are twice as likely to suffer from small bone, but nothing indicates that it is actually causing the problem, nor in what way.

Fabella can also interfere with knee replacement surgery and cause pain and discomfort alone.

So, why is he making a comeback?

The theory is that everything is related to nutrition.

The researchers came to the conclusion that better nutrition makes the average man bigger and heavier, which means that we have longer shins and larger calf muscles.

These changes put the knee under more pressure.

As sesamoid bones, such as fabella, are known to develop in response to the movements they make and the forces they exert, this could explain why the bone is more common than it was.

Why is it important?

Learn more about the resurgence of this small bone could help doctors treat patients with knee problems.

This could also give them insights into human evolution over the last century.

But first they want to know the age, sex and location of the people most likely to have a fabella, and whether it occurs at one or both knees.

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