title: [The affect of the skin stretch on the biomechanical changes of skin].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the biomechanical changes in skin after employing the skin stretch.
  
  
  METHODS
  Skin samples were took from the test group which was stretched for 7 days and control group without stretch respectively in the end of 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 week. The biomechanical index were measured by tensiometer.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean destroy stress, breaking load, stretch rate of the test group decreased obviously in the first week (the breaking load was increasing at the beginning) and the three index increased subsequently, they reached the climax during the fourth week and turned to normal subsequently to the level of some higher than control group and normal value in the sixth week. The stiffness of the test group reached the climax at the first week and than decreased gradually to the level of some higher than normal value and control group. The biomechanical changes of te control group was not evident by comparing with the test gropu.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Skin stretch may injured the biomechanical property during the early time and turned to normal soon afterwards. The stiffness of the skin was increased and its elasticity was decreased after performing skin stretch.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710032, China.
authors.forename: Zhi-gang
authors.initials: ZG
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Shu-zhong
authors.initials: SZ
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Kai-hua
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Chun-sheng
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: De-men
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Hou
mesh_terms: D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D004548:Elasticity; D006801:Humans; D008422:Materials Testing / Q000379:methods; D012421:Rupture; D012867:Skin; D012879:Skin Physiological Phenomena