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Biomechanical effects of stress shielding of the rabbit patellar tendon depend on the degree of stress reduction

A rabbit model was used to discover whether the effects of stress shielding on the mechanical properties of the patellar tendon depend on the degree of stress reduction. Ninety mature female Japanese White rabbits were divided into three groups: completely stress‐shielded, partially stress‐shielded, and shamoperation and contralateral controls. In the experimental groups, tension applied to the patellar tendon was 0%, approximately 30%, and 100%, of the normal tension, respectively, with a polyester artificial ligament. Tensile tests were carried out on patella‐patellar tendon‐tibia complexes harvested 1, 2, 3, 6, or 12 weeks after surgery. The tensile strength decreased in comparison with the sham‐operation group to 50.2, 13.5, 9.7, and 20.7% in the completely stress‐shielded group and to 75.2, 57.6, 59.6, 57.3, and 72.9% in the partially stress‐shielded group. The tensile strength in the completely stress‐shielded group was significantly less than that in the partially stress‐shielded group at 1, 2, 3, and 6 weeks. The cross‐sectional area of the patellar tendon significantly increased to 132, 206, 237, and 136% in the completely stress‐shielded group and to 136, 170, 175, 155, and 127% in the partially stress‐shielded group, compared with the sham‐operation group. The cross‐sectional area of the completely stress‐shielded tendon was significantly larger than that of the partially stress‐shielded tendon at 1, 2, and 3 weeks. This study demonstrated that effects of stress shielding on the mechanical properties of the patellar tendon were dependent on the degree of stress shielding.