BACKGROUND After ligament reconstruction, mechanical deterioration of the grafted tendon is observed with revascularization and cellular infiltration. However, the effect of cellular infiltration on the mechanical properties of the tendon matrix has not been fully understood. METHODS Cultured fibroblasts derived from the rabbit patellar tendon were seeded around an acellular rabbit patellar t...

Patellar tendinopathy is a common and difficult-to-treat overuse injury of the patellar tendon with a very negative impact on the careers of many athletes. It appears to involve a failed healing process in the tendon--not inflammation--and has consequences for the treatment strategy. Rehabilitation programs are based on the principles of load reduction and an eccentric exercise program to impro...

Tendon stiffness may be involved in limiting peak musculoskeletal forces and thus may constitute an upper limit for bone strength. The patellar tendon bone (PTB) graft, which is harvested from the patellar tendon during surgical reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), is an ideal scenario to test this hypothesis. Eleven participants were recruited who had undergone surgical reco...

Patellar tendinopathy is very common in patients complaining of anterior knee pain. Its aetiology is still unclear, but neovascularisation seems to play a role. Different treatments have been proposed overtime, from rehabilitation to platelet-rich-plasma injections, but there is no agreement on the best treatment protocol. The final stage of patellar tendinopathy is patellar tendon rupture. In ...

BACKGROUND Increased tendon production of the inflammatory mediator prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) has been suggested to be a potential etiologic agent in the development of tendinopathy. Repeated injection of PGE2 into tendon has been proposed as a potential animal model for studying treatments for tendinopathy. In contrast, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) which inhibit PGE2 production ...

Superior patellar dislocation is a very rare pathology, which happens in middle age. We report a case of spontaneous superior patellar dislocation, which occurred at 30 years of age. Differential diagnosis is patellar tendon rupture, which could be reliably excluded by clinical examination and radiographs. Reduction manoeuvres should be tried with diluted intra-articular local anaesthetic for h...

PURPOSE To report outcomes of revision anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction using tibial or hamstring tendon allografts and to compare with another study using non-irradiated fresh-frozen bone-patellar tendon-bone allografts. METHODS Records of 12 men and 7 women aged 18 to 53 (mean, 33) years who underwent revision ACL reconstructions using tibial tendon (n=17) or hamstring tendon...

Pre-operatively, lateral radiographs of both knees were performed in order to estimate the Insall– Salvati ratio and use the measurement from the uninjured side as a guide during the reconstruction. The Insall–Salvati ratio measured 1.0. The patient was consented for a patellar tendon reconstruction using hamstring graft and possible Z lengthening of the quadriceps tendon. The patient was place...

Collagen content and cross-linking are believed to be major determinants of tendon structural integrity and function. Sex and chronic resistance training have been shown to alter tendon function and may also alter the key structural features of tendon. Patellar tendon biopsies were taken from untrained men [n = 8, 1 repetition maximum (RM) = 53 +/- 3 kg], untrained women (n = 8, 1 RM = 29 +/- 2...

Knee extensor mechanism rupture is an uncommon, but significant, injury. The inability to actively extend the knee precludes normal gait. Quadriceps tendon injuries usually result from a simple fall in middle-aged men.1 Although low-energy fall mechanism of injury is most common, spontaneous rupture tends to occur in a subset of medical conditions (Table).2,3 Patients with quadriceps tendon rup...