Ligaments are strong soft-tissue structures in your body that attach one bone to another, they play a vital role in stabilising bones or joints in the body. These structures are very tough and have limited elasticity, and in conjuction with the muscles, tendons, and bones in your body allow you to stand upright and mobilise or function day to day.

In younger people, more commonly in females, the ligaments in the body may have greater laxity, and this often disappears with age. Certain soft-tissue disorders can also result in overly lax ligamnets, but these are quite uncommon, and Dr Ihsheish will be able to assess for these and discuss them with you accordingly.

The term ‘ligamentous laxity’ is a specific medical diagnosis that can be made by the surgeon depending on the patient's ligaments fulfilling a defined and recognised set of findings in the clinical examination, in many cases this is not associated with any specific disease. It is importnant to recognise, as it may result in loose joints, and this may manifest clinically as instability (for example a joint may dislocate easily). Dr Ihsheish will also discuss with you the importance of this in relation to treatment options.