Tendon Mechanbiology in Small-Animal Exeperiments During Post-Trans Ection Healing

Ruptures to tendons are common and costly, and no clinical consensus exists on the appropriate treatment and rehabilitation regimen to promote their healing as well as full recovery of functionality. Although mechanobiology is known to play an important role in tendon regeneration, the understanding of how mechano-regulated processes affect tendon healing needs further clarification. Many small-animal studies, particularly in rats and mice, have characterized the progression of healing in terms of geometrical, structural, compositional, mechanical, and cellular properties. Some of the properties are also studied under different mechanical loading regimens. The focus of this review is to summarize and generalize the information in the literature regarding spatial and temporal differentiation of tendon properties during rodent tendon healing following full-tendon transection, as well as how this is affected by altered in vivo loading regimens.Funding Agencies|European UnionEuropean Commission [713645]; Knut and Alice Wallenberg KAW Foundation (Wallenberg Academy) [2017.0221]; European Research Council (ERC) under the European UnionEuropean Research Council (ERC) [101002516]