The articulations are actively stabilized by the muscles and passively by the tendons and ligaments.
The articular lesions are usually acute lesions, even if sometimes they can be secondary to pathologies that have previously changed the articular structures in a repetitive way.
Articular acute lesions include:
Contusion: they are due to direct traumas against articular surfaces. The symptomatology is characterized by a more or less intense dolor, tumor and functio lesa;
Sprain: it is a transitory loss of contact between the two articular surfaces with consequent straining or partial lesion of the ligaments and/or articular capsule. They are caused, in the majority of the cases, by a contusive, direct trauma, and some other times, by indirect traumas;
Luxation: with the term luxation we mean a complete and permanent loss of contact of the two articular ends, accompanied by a more or less serious luxation of the capsule-ligamental structures;
Sub-luxation: with this terms we mean an incomplete and permanent loss of contact of the two articular ends.