Wound healing of tendon -- II. A mathematical model

Abstract

A mathematical model for healing tendon was developed reflecting correlations of biomechanical and biochemical factors. The model provided values for the physical and mechanical property changes during isometric thermal denaturation utilizing differences associated with treatment and length of healing period, along with the selected biochemical covariates of hydroxyproline, protein, and hexosamine concentration levels. Application of the biochemical values to the model estimated the physical and mechanical property changes of both the wounded and control tendon when the property changes between the two groups were small. When property differences were large, the wounded group was predictable for all property changes except dry tendon weight. The model showed the fifth healing day to be different from the other healing periods supporting the observation that day 5 was the shortest possible test day. Significance of the modeling approach to tendon healing is discussed.