The ability of tendons to glide smoothly during muscle contraction is impaired after injury by fibrous adhesions that form between the damaged tendon surface and surrounding tissues. To understand how adhesions form we incubated excised tendons in fibrin gels (to mimic the homeostatic environment at the injury site) and assessed cell migration. We noticed cells exiting the tendon from only the ...

This study provides the first in vivo measures of the passive length-tension properties of relaxed human muscle fascicles and their tendons. A new method was used to derive passive length-tension properties of human gastrocnemius muscle-tendon units from measures of ankle stiffness obtained at a range of knee angles. Passive length-tension curves of the muscle-tendon unit were then combined wit...

Background Sonoelastography (SE) is a new ultrasound-based method adopted in an increased number of scientific reports to analyse normal and pathological tendons. The aim of this study is to provide a systematic overview of clinical applications of SE in normal and pathological tendons. Methods A systematic research of PubMed, Ovid, and Cochrane Library electronic databases was performed acco...

Acute and chronic tendinopathies remain clinically challenging and tendons are predisposed to degeneration or injury with age. Despite the high prevalence of tendon disease in the elderly, our current understanding of the mechanisms underlying the age-dependent deterioration of tendon function remains very limited. Here, we show that Secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (Sparc) expressi...

Both magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and sonography are well suited to tendon imaging. A normal tendon on MRI demonstrates low signal intensity and on sonography, an echogenic fibrillar pattern. MRI is considered the imaging gold standard, providing an anatomic overview and excellent soft tissue contrast. Sonography is a more rapidly performed examination; it has greater resolution than that o...

Rupture of tendons due to either high load or laceration is a common injury, especially for the hand. Tendon disorders are traditionally treated by reducing inflammation, restoring flexibility, and, if necessary, performing surgical repair. It has been estimated that hand surgeons repair nearly one-third of a million digital flexor tendon injuries per year in the United States. Despite the fact...

BACKGROUND Two main factors determine the strength of tendon repair; the tensile strength of material and the gripping capacity of a suture configuration. Different repair techniques and suture materials were developed to increase the strength of repairs but none of techniques and suture materials seem to provide enough tensile strength with safety margins for early active mobilization. In orde...

The long tendons of the limb extend from muscles that reside in the zeugopod (arm/leg) to their skeletal insertions in the autopod (paw). How these connections are established along the length of the limb remains unknown. Here, we show that mouse limb tendons are formed inmodular units that combine to forma functional contiguous structure; inmuscle-less limbs, tendonsdevelop in the autopodbut d...

The lubricating ability of human synoviocyte lubricin and bovine lubricin purified from synovial fluid was investigated and compared using a canine in vitro tendon model. Our null hypothesis was that these two forms of lubricin would have equal lubricating ability. Forty two canine hind-limbs were used. The peroneus longus (PL) tendons were harvested, along with the proximal phalanx and flexor ...