The purpose of this study was to evaluate the mechanical properties of the anterior (AT) and posterior (PT) tibialis muscle tendons submitted to axial strain until the point of ultimate failure, at a 20 mm/min speed. We used fresh-frozen human tendons from 18 male cadavers with mean age of 45.2 ± 10.7 years. The tendons were divided into two groups and one was frozen at -20°C and the other at -86°C, for 30 to 90 days before the tests. The tendons were thawed then the cross sectional area at their central portion was measured. We studied the following mechanical properties: ultimate strength, rigidity, modulus of elasticity and relative strain (%). The data obtained were compared with those found in the literature related to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and its common replacements. The comparison between AT and PT with results obtained by other authors showed that the tendons have biomechanical properties that make their use possible as ACL grafts in cases of ligament reconstruction where allografts are usually employed.
Knee; Anterior cruciate ligament; Arthroscopy; Tendons
