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Mechanical properties of wrist extensor tendons are altered by the presence of rheumatoid arthritis
Author(s) -
BreaultJanicki Martine J.,
Small Carolyn F.,
Bryant J. Timothy,
Dwosh Isaac L.,
Lee J. Michael,
Pichora David R.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of orthopaedic research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.041
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1554-527X
pISSN - 0736-0266
DOI - 10.1002/jor.1100160412
Subject(s) - wrist , rheumatoid arthritis , medicine , tendon , stiffness , ultimate tensile strength , arthritis , biomechanics , strain (injury) , materials science , surgery , anatomy , composite material
The in vitro mechanical properties of 14 wrist extensor tendons salvaged at surgery from patients with inflammatory (rheumatoid) arthritis and noninflammatory arthrosis were measured in uniaxial tension and compared. The rheumatoid tendons had higher extensibility at low stresses, lower stiffness in the linear portion of the stress‐strain curve, greater rates of stress relaxation, and lower ultimate strengths than did the nonrheumatoid tendons. Differences in tangent modulus, stress remaining at 100 seconds, and ultimate tensile strength were significant at the 95% confidence level. In vivo , mechanically, impaired tendons may play an important role in destabilization of the wrist in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.