Slippery motion between the limbs of a double tendon graft

Abstract

Relative motion of tendon limbs of a double tendon graft for the application of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction may affect the mechanical behaviour of a tendon graft structure. The biomechanical data derived from the standard tensile testing machines may not be able to show the relative motion of the graft limbs. This paper uses the non-destructive digital stereo imaging recording system, synchronized with the standard test machine, to precisely determine the biomechanical properties of 10 bovine flexor tendon grafts which hanged from the loop side to the rig and the other end was fixed in a bone block. The study showed there is a relative motion between graft limbs.