BACKGROUND Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction is commonly performed with autogenous hamstring tendon grafts. PURPOSE To ascertain the effects of braiding on ultimate tensile strength and stiffness of hamstring tendon graft. STUDY DESIGN Controlled laboratory study. METHODS Sixteen fresh-frozen semitendinosus and gracilis tendons were harvested from eight matched (right and left) hu...

The purpose of this study was to develop a new device, which represents a modification of the Cryo-Jaw described by Riemersa and Schamhardt and modified by Hamner et al., for in vitro biomechanical testing of tendons which allows the lower clamp to move in every direction and thus simulate a pathological dislocation of the knee. Tendons are fixed to the device by freezing the clamped part with ...

BACKGROUND It was suggested that the direction of incision for medial hamstring tendons harvesting influences the incidence of injury to the infrapatellar branch of the saphenous nerve (IPBSN), a common complication following arthroscopically-assisted anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). OBJECTIVES The main purpose of current study was to compare the incidence of IPBSN injury bet...

[Purpose] This study developed a pelvic wedge and belt and investigated their effects on the selective activation of medial and lateral hamstring muscles during knee flexion. [Subjects and Methods] Nine adults were enrolled. The participants performed exercises without and with the pelvic wedge and belt, and the electromyographic activities of the medial and lateral hamstring muscles were recor...

Hamstring strain is common in athletes, and both diagnosis and surgical treatment of this injury are becoming more common. Nonsurgical treatment of complete ruptures has resulted in complications such as muscle weakness and sciatic neuralgia. Surgical treatment recently has been advocated to repair the complete rupture of the hamstring tendons from the ischial tuberosity. Surgical repair involv...

Much controversy exists regarding the potential advantages and disadvantages of various graft choices for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Advocates of hamstring autografts often cite the limited apparent morbidity associated with semitendinosus or semitendinosus and gracilis harvest, including evidence that hamstring tendons may regenerate after harvest. In this article, we attempt t...

Background. The aim of the study was to evaluate whether or not there was any incompatibility between four-strand hamstring tendons taken from the same knee and the dimensions of the ACL and PCL. Methods. 15 fresh frozen cadaver hamstrings were prepared as four-strand grafts and measurements made of the ACL and PCL circumferences in the midsection were made in the narrowest part of the midsecti...

The hamstring tendons are an increasingly popular graft choice for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction due to preservation of quadriceps function and the absence of anterior knee pain post-operatively. Two commonly used hamstring grafts are a quadruple strand semitendinosus graft (4ST) and a double strand semitendinosus-double strand gracilis graft (2ST-2G). It has been suggested that con...

BACKGROUND Harvested hamstring tendon length has received scant attention in published anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction literature, yet length can limit the ability to increase graft diameter by folding the tendon over more than once. Indeed, some ultrashort tendons may be too short to yield a clinically useful graft after being folded over just once. Ultimately, the total length...