Stress relaxation of a peripheral nerve.
This study determines the change in tension after an acute nerve lengthening, as would occur in peripheral nerve repair. Stress relaxation, a viscoelastic property, was studied with the use of 24 rabbit tibial nerves. The nerves were divided into three groups and were stretched 6%, 9%, or 12% beyond their original resting length. The mean 1-hour stress relaxations for the three groups were 48%, 34%, and 34%, respectively. Nerve stress relaxation was significantly greater at 6% strain than at 9% or 12% strain. These biomechanical findings have important clinical implications for nerve-stretch injury and for nerve repair.
Division of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, University of California, San Diego.
E J
EJ
Wall
M K
MK
Kwan
B L
BL
Rydevik
S L
SL
Woo
S R
SR
Garfin
D000818:Animals; D004548:Elasticity; D011817:Rabbits; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013718:Tensile Strength / Q000502:physiology; D013979:Tibial Nerve / Q000502:physiology* / Q000601:surgery