Connective Tissue Healing Flashcards
how many grades of soft tissue lesions are there?
3
grade 1 soft tissue lesion
mild pain and swelling from tissue stress
grade 2 soft tissue lesion
moderate pain, some tearing of fibers, some increase in joint mobility
grade 3 soft tissue lesion
severe pain, near complete or complete tear or avulsion, joint instability
injury phase is from time of onset and up to ______ minutes after
15
how do patients present in injury phase?
may have low pain, minimal swelling, muscle guarding
what is the goal during the injury phase
stabilize patient
T or F: inflammation occurs after an injury
T
three stages of healing
acute, subacute, chronic
acute stage of healing
inflammatory reaction
subacute stage of healing
proliferation, repair, and healing
chronic stage of healing
maturation and remodeling
how long is the inflammatory phase?
4-6 days
how will a pt in inflammatory phase present
swelling, redness, warmth, pain before onset of resistance
what is happening at the tissue level during inflammatory phase?
- vascular changes
- exudation of cells and chemicals
- clot formation
- phagocytosis
- early fibroblasic activity
what is the goal during inflammatory reaction phase
control inflammation, control effects of rest, patient ed
subacute is also called the…
fibroblastic phase
how long does subacute phase last
10-17 days but can be up to 6 weeks
how does a pt in the subacute phase present
- decreasing inflammation
- scar formation
- onset of pain with resistance
what is happening at the tissue level during subacute phase
- removal of noxious stimuli
- growth of capillary beds into area
- collagen formation
- granulation tissue
- very fragile, easily injured tissue
what is the goal during subacute phase?
- controlled motion
- promote mobility through controlled ROM, stretching, mobs
- promote healing through stabilization and endurance exercises (be careful with intensity!)
the chronic stage lasts at least ___ weeks and up to ______ months
3, 18
how will patients in chronic stage present
no inflammation, pain after resistance
what is happening at the tissue level during chronic phase?
- decreased fibroblasts and vascularity
- 85% of original collagen replaced by 5 months
- maturation of connective tissue
- remodeling of scar tissue
- collagen aligns to stress
what is the goal during chronic phase?
return to function
increase tensile quality of scar through exercise
if injured tissue is continually stressed beyond its ability to repair what can occue?
chronic inflammation
what happens after rest with chronic inflammation
stiffness and loss of ROM
definition of chronic pain
pain greater than 6 months (some literature says 3 months)
T or F: chronic pain can be linked to a current mechanical source
F
what could cause chronic pain after an injury
- return to function too quickly
- scar tissue
- repeated/vigorous activity
- faulty movement patterns
treatment approach for chronic pain
address pain, correct faulty movement patterns, patient education (PNE)
three types of cells in bone
osteoblasts, osteocytes, osteoclasts
osteoblasts
make bone
osteoclasts
break down bone
osteocytes
mature bone cells, daily function
cortical bone
hard outer bone
cancellous/trabecular bone
soft spongey bone
epiphysis
growth plate
wolf’s law
bone will adapt to stresses being placed upon it
bone is viscoelastic meaning…
response depends on rate and duration of loading
this is the best type of load for bone and results in bone formation
compression
bone has good strength with this type of load when loaded parallel to the bone. it results in bone reabsorption
tension
bone is weakest when loaded in this fashion and fractures easily
torsion/shear
*small intermittent loads do increase bone strength
trabeculae are highest in areas where there has been _________
tosion/shear
key factors for bone healing
- adequate fixation
- alignment
- good nutrition
- blood supply
- oxygen
- compression
3 phases of bone healing (and time frames)
soft callus: 0-3/4 weeks
hard callus: 4-6weeks
bony union: 3-4 mths
during what phase do you continue to immobilize most fractures
soft callus because it is a fragile union
can you do normal daily activity during hard callus phase
yes because fracture is stabilized
tendons and ligaments are made up of what kind of cells
fibrocytess
structure of tendons and ligaments
collagen - 30%
elastin - 2%
ground substance - 68%
what happens to the ground substance with loss of motion
loss of water
davis’s law
soft tissue structures will adapt according to the stresses placed upon them
AKA: hypertrophy/atrophy are dependent upon the amount and type of activity
T or F: fibrous connective tissue is viscoelastic
T
creep
the lengthening that occurs when a stretch force is applied
ex. hamstring stretch
load relaxation
longer load is placed the less stress felt
ex: cervical traction
are tendons or ligaments more elastic
ligaments
*tendons fail at 10% length
ligaments/tendons respond best to this kind of load
tension
*they don’t handle compression very well
0 to 4-6 weeks fibrous connective tissue healing
- protected ROM
- minimal strength training
4-6 weeks fibrous connective tissue healing
- structural union occurs
- begin resuming normal ROM
6 weeks-3 months fibrous connective tissue healing
initial protected strength training
4-8 months fibrous connective tissue healing
improving strength of fibers, possible resumption athletic activity
8-12 months fibrous connective tissue healing
complete remodeling
what type of cells is articular cartilage made up of
chondrocytes
what does articular cartilage not heal well
chondrocytes are limited in number and unable to reproduce
articular cartilage is arranged in 4 ______
zones
collagen is for _______ and ground substance is for __________-
strength
shock absorption
zone 1 of articular cartilage
large amount of collagen, parallel to surface
allows for gliding and strength
zone 2 of articular cartilage
- less collagen than zone 1
- random fiber orientation
- provides strength and shock attenuation
zone 3 of articular cartilage
- less collagen than zone 1 and 2
- perpendicular orientation
- provides shock attenuation
zone 4 of articular cartilage
calcified and attached to bone
80% of articular cartilage weight is
water
T or F: articular cartilage is viscoelastic
T
T or F: articular cartilage is avascular and aneural
T: this is why it has poor healing
T or F: tendons are stronger than articular cartilage
F: articular cartilage is stronger than tendon and SC bone
articular cartilage is very strong with _______ and _______ but weak with ________
compression and tension
shear
what is articular cartilage healing affected by
hemarthrosis
effusion
injection
depth of lesion
T or F: a deeper lesion in articular cartilage may heal better
T: b/c more blood flow
what is the primary goal when it comes to articular cartilage healing
restore mobility
platelet rich plasma
platelets contain protein and cytokines to help regulate wound healing