These articles have quotations from film adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings and related works: 1  The Lord of the Rings.  J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (1978)
This causes a twisting on the tibia and changes its relationship to your kneecap. This can cause tracking problems as well. If your quadriceps or hamstring muscles are too tight, they also will affect the mechanics of the knee and lead to compensation patterns that cause pain.
4. Your kneecap itself can be the cause of knee buckling. It is attached to your femur but can slide out of its âgrooves.â The kneecap often pops back into place on its own. Knee buckling caused by the kneecap changing location is called patellar instability. Tear in Your Cartilage. One of the most common reasons for knee buckling is a tear in the cartilage rings surrounding your knee, called the menisci. When your cartilage tears, you may find that your knee is unstable especially when going down the stairs or squatting down to pick something up.