title: Resonance frequency in patellar tendon.
abstract: The aim of this study was to the measure resonance frequency of the patellar tendon in order to determine whether the resonance frequency exists in the soft tissue of the human body. A vibrator was attached to the medial aspect of the tibia of 10 healthy subjects to provide different frequencies of vibration, and an accelerometer was attached to the patellar tendon to measure the vibration of the patellar tendon. Measurements were obtained at 0 degrees , 60 degrees and 90 degrees of knee flexion. A mean resonance frequency of 22.5+/-0.8, 23.0+0.7 and 24.0+0.8 Hz was produced in the right patellar tendon when the knee joint was at 0 degrees , 60 degrees and 90 degrees of flexion, respectively. The increase in resonance frequency from 0 degrees to 60 degrees was not statistically significant. However, the increase from 60 degrees to 90 degrees was significant (P<0.05). No differences in the measured parameters were evident for the left and right patellar tendons. These results indicate that resonance frequencies exist in soft tissues of the body and that this characteristic may be useful in detecting changes in soft tissue physical properties.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: T-G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: T-Y
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Hsiao
authors.forename: C-L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Y-W
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Shau
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007593:Joint Instability / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017847:Patellar Ligament / Q000502:physiology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D017695:Soft Tissue Injuries / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D014732:Vibration