Ligament & Tendon Flashcards
Tendons & ligaments are what kind of connective tissue?
dense, regular
How do the superficial & deep layers differ in both the anterior & posterior longitudinal ligament?
the superficial layers span multiple spinal levels whereas the deep only cross adjacent vertebra attaching to the annulus fibrosis
Where are the anterior & posterior longitudinal ligaments thickest?
in the thoracic region
Why is the ligamentum flavum so important to posture?
it lines the vertebral canal and is under constant tension which prevents the spine from buckling during movement
How many archs do we have underfoot?
3 (2 longitudinal & 1 transverse)
What determines the arrangement of the archs?
bony arrangement of the foot, plantar ligaments & plantar aponeurosis
What is the purpose of the arch underfoot?
shock absorption
What does the ACL resist?
anterior tibial translation & rotation
What is the function of a tendon?
transmit force from muscle to bone
absorb, store & release energy
power amplification
protect muscle from damage
What are the two predominant energy storing tendons?
patellar & achilles
At what percentage of strain do tendons fail? When does an achilles fail?
3-8%, achilles up to 12%
How much does the achilles tendon contribute to total body work through energy storage and release during a single leg hopping task?
16%
What is buffering of a tendon?
a protective feature whereby the tendon lengthens before a muscle during an eccentric contraction
What is amplification (as performed by the achilles during gait)?
during stance the Achilles tendon slowly stores and quickly releases energy during push-off to propel to the next step
What is electro-mechanical delay? What affect does stiffness/compliance have on this delay?
the delay between the activation of a muscle and its production of force around a joint
a more compliant tendon will have a bigger delay, stiffer will have a smaller delay
this is because it takes more time to take up the slack in a compliant tendon before force around a joint can occur
What is the enthesis? How does it differ from the muscle-tendon junction?
the gradual insertion site of the tendon/ligament to bone which allows load transfer between the elastic tendon/ligament and rigid bone
muscle-tendon junction is the abrupt transition from muscle to tendon whereby collagen fibers and muscle cell membrane interdigitate to increase surface area and reduce stress
Name the cells and 3 main components of ECF present in tendons
Tenocytes, collagen, elastic & proteoglycans
What collagen types are present in tendons?
Type 1 (90%) & type 3 (10%)
Where are there relatively more proteoglycans found within a tendon and why?
towards the insertional regions of tendons because that is where tendons are most subjected to compression and the PG’s attract water to resist this compression
Is collagen arrangement linear or variable in ligaments?
variable
Describe the tendon hierarchical structure
collagen > microfibril > sub-fibril > fibril > fascicle > tendon
Are ligaments & tendons highly vascularised?
No- hence slower to recover than muscles
Mechanical behavior of tendons/ligaments depends on what two factors?
direction and type of forces (i.e. compressive vs tensile)