The Role of Mechanical Loading in Tendon Development Maintenance Injury and Repair

摘要

➤ Tendon injuries often result from excessive or insufficient mechanical loading, impairing the ability of the local tendon cell population to maintain normal tendon function.➤ The resident cell population composing tendon tissue is mechanosensitive, given that the cells are able to alter the extracellular matrix in response to modifications of the local loading environment.➤ Natural tendon healing is insufficient, characterized by improper collagen fibril diameter formation, collagen fibril distribution, and overall fibril misalignment.➤ Current tendon repair rehabilitation protocols focus on implementing early, well-controlled eccentric loading exercises to improve repair outcome.➤ Tissue engineers look toward incorporating mechanical loading regimens to precondition cell populations for the creation of improved biological augmentations for tendon repair.