Human patellar tendon strain - A noninvasive, in vivo study

This study showed the assumption of patellar tendon inextensibility was not valid, and the strain in the patellar tendon was higher than previously re ported for other human tendons. The in vivo three-dimensional velocity prof iles for the patella, femur, and tibia were measured noninvasively in 18 he althy knees during a low load extensor task using cine phase contrast magne tic resonance imaging. These data were used to calculate patellar tendon el ongation and strain. Average maximum strains of 6.6% were found for a low l oad extension task at relatively small knee angles.