Loosening of Posteromedial Meniscal Root Repairs Affects Knee Mechanics: A Finite Element Study

Author(s):  
Brett Steineman ◽  
Robert LaPrade ◽  
Tammy Haut Donahue

Abstract Meniscal root repairs are susceptible to unrecoverable loosening that may displace the meniscus from the initial position reduced during surgery. Despite this, the effects of a loosened meniscal root repair on knee mechanics are unknown. We hypothesized that anatomic root repairs without loosening would restore knee mechanics to the intact condition better than loosened anatomic root repairs, but that loosened repairs would restore mechanics better than untreated meniscal root tears. Finite element knee models were used to evaluate changes in cartilage and meniscus mechanics due to repair loosening. The mechanical response from loosened anatomic root repairs was compared to anatomic repairs without loosening and untreated root tears. All conditions were evaluated at three flexion angles, 0°, 30°, and 60°, and a compressive force of 1,000 N to simulate return-to-activity loading. The two-simple-suture method was represented within the models to simulate posteromedial meniscal root repairs and repair loosening was derived from previous biomechanical experimental data. Loosening decreased hoop stresses throughout the meniscus, increased posterior extrusion, and shifted loading through the meniscus-cartilage region to the cartilage-cartilage region compared to the anatomic root repair without loosening. Despite differences between repairs and loosened repairs, the changes from loosened repairs more closely resembled the anatomic repair without loosening than the untreated root repair condition. Therefore, root repairs are susceptible to loosening that will prevent a successful initial repair from remaining in the intended position and will alter mechanics, although repairs that loosen appear better than leaving tears untreated.

2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brett D. Steineman ◽  
Robert F. LaPrade ◽  
Tammy L. Haut Donahue

Abstract Nonanatomic placement of posteromedial meniscal root repairs alters knee mechanics; however, little is known about how the position and magnitude of misplacement affect knee mechanics. Finite element knee models were developed to assess changes in cartilage and meniscus mechanics for anatomic and various nonanatomic repairs with respect to intact. In total, 25 different repair locations were assessed at loads of 500 N and 1000 N. The two-simple-suture method was represented within the models to simulate posteromedial meniscal root repairs. Anatomic repairs nearly restored total contact area; however, meniscal hoop stress decreased, meniscal extrusion increased, and cartilage–cartilage contact area increased. Repairs positioned further posterior altered knee mechanics the most and repairs positioned further anterior restored knee mechanics for posteromedial root repairs. Despite this, repair tension increased with further anterior placement. Anterior placement of repairs results in more restorative contact mechanics than posterior placement; however, anterior placement also increased the risk of suture cut-out or failure following repairs. Anatomic placement of repairs remains the best option because of the risks involved with anterior placement; however, suture methods need to be improved to better restore the strength of repairs to that of the native insertion. Proper placement of repairs is important to consider with meniscal root repairs because misplacement may negatively affect cartilage and meniscus mechanics in patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (6) ◽  
pp. 263502542110445
Author(s):  
John R. Matthews ◽  
Ryan W. Paul ◽  
Sommer Hammoud

Background: Meniscal root tears typically result from a hyperflexion/squatting injury or are in conjunction with ligamentous knee injury. Once a complete tear occurs, the meniscus is unable to convert axial loads to transverse hoop stresses which result in increased tibiofemoral contact pressure and osteoarthritis. The goal of a meniscal root repair is to anatomically reattach the meniscal root to the tibia plateau. Complete and partial healing occurs in over 93% of cases with retear rates ranging from 0% to 7%. Indications: We present a case of a highly active 21-year-old male collegiate soccer play that sustained a medial meniscal root tear after slipping on ice. Technique: An anatomic medial meniscal root repair was performed using a transtibial guide and 2 loop sutures tied over a button. Results: Full anatomic footprint coverage was able to be achieved intraoperatively and gentle range of motion from 0 to 90° of flexion did not result in gap formation. Discussion/Conclusion: Successful outcomes with full anatomic footprint coverage of the medial meniscal root can be achieved with 2-loop suture button configuration.


2019 ◽  
Vol 86 ◽  
pp. 149-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yekutiel Katz ◽  
Gal Dahan ◽  
Jacob Sosna ◽  
Ilan Shelef ◽  
Evgenia Cherniavsky ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Dong-Feng Li ◽  
Noel P. O’Dowd ◽  
Catrin M. Davies ◽  
Shu-Yan Zhang

In this study, the deformation behavior of an austenitic stainless steel is investigated at the microscale by means of in-situ neutron diffraction (ND) measurements in conjunction with finite-element (FE) simulations. Results are presented in terms of (elastic) lattice strains for selected grain (crystallite) families. The FE model is based on a crystallographic (slip system based) representation of the deformation at the microscale. The present study indicates that combined in-situ ND measurement and micromechanical modelling provides an enhanced understanding of the mechanical response at the microscale in engineering steels.


2013 ◽  
Vol 325-326 ◽  
pp. 1314-1317
Author(s):  
Cong Sheng Chen ◽  
Ping He ◽  
Cheng Yong Wang ◽  
Xue Hui Chen ◽  
Lei Huang ◽  
...  

Three-dimensional integrated modeling method and the numerical simulation of elastoplastic finite element are adopted in the paper. The mechanical response of the five holes anchorage is analyzed in certain prestressed state. The stress and strain distribution information of the anchor ring, clip and steel strand is obtained respectively, and the structure safety is discussed by investigating on the maximum stress and strain.


Author(s):  
F E Donaldson ◽  
P Pankaj ◽  
A H Law ◽  
A H Simpson

The study of the mechanical behaviour of trabecular bone has extensively employed micro-level finite element (μFE) models generated from images of real bone samples. It is now recognized that the key determinants of the mechanical behaviour of bone are related to its micro-architecture. The key indices of micro-architecture, in turn, depend on factors such as age, anatomical site, sex, and degree of osteoporosis. In practice, it is difficult to acquire sufficient samples that encompass these variations. In this preliminary study, a method of generating virtual finite element (FE) samples of trabecular bone is considered. Virtual samples, calibrated to satisfy some of the key micro-architectural characteristics, are generated computationally. The apparent level elastic and post-elastic mechanical behaviour of the generated samples is examined: the elastic mechanical response of these samples is found to compare well with natural trabecular bone studies conducted by previous investigators; the post-elastic response of virtual samples shows that material non-linearities have a much greater effect in comparison with geometrical non-linearity for the bone densities considered. Similar behaviour has been reported by previous studies conducted on real trabecular bone. It is concluded that virtual modelling presents a potentially valuable tool in the study of the mechanical behaviour of trabecular bone and the role of its micro-architecture.


2005 ◽  
Vol 127 (7) ◽  
pp. 1158-1167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam H. Hsieh ◽  
Diane R. Wagner ◽  
Louis Y. Cheng ◽  
Jeffrey C. Lotz

In vivo rodent tail models are becoming more widely used for exploring the role of mechanical loading on the initiation and progression of intervertebral disc degeneration. Historically, finite element models (FEMs) have been useful for predicting disc mechanics in humans. However, differences in geometry and tissue properties may limit the predictive utility of these models for rodent discs. Clearly, models that are specific for rodent tail discs and accurately simulate the disc’s transient mechanical behavior would serve as important tools for clarifying disc mechanics in these animal models. An FEM was developed based on the structure, geometry, and scale of the mouse tail disc. Importantly, two sources of time-dependent mechanical behavior were incorporated: viscoelasticity of the matrix, and fluid permeation. In addition, a novel strain-dependent swelling pressure was implemented through the introduction of a dilatational stress in nuclear elements. The model was then validated against data from quasi-static tension-compression and compressive creep experiments performed previously using mouse tail discs. Finally, sensitivity analyses were performed in which material parameters of each disc subregion were individually varied. During disc compression, matrix consolidation was observed to occur preferentially at the periphery of the nucleus pulposus. Sensitivity analyses revealed that disc mechanics was greatly influenced by changes in nucleus pulposus material properties, but rather insensitive to variations in any of the endplate properties. Moreover, three key features of the model—nuclear swelling pressure, lamellar collagen viscoelasticity, and interstitial fluid permeation—were found to be critical for accurate simulation of disc mechanics. In particular, collagen viscoelasticity dominated the transient behavior of the disc during the initial 2200s of creep loading, while fluid permeation governed disc deformation thereafter. The FEM developed in this study exhibited excellent agreement with transient creep behavior of intact mouse tail motion segments. Notably, the model was able to produce spatial variations in nucleus pulposus matrix consolidation that are consistent with previous observations in nuclear cell morphology made in mouse discs using confocal microscopy. Results of this study emphasize the need for including nucleus swelling pressure, collagen viscoelasticity, and fluid permeation when simulating transient changes in matrix and fluid stress/strain. Sensitivity analyses suggest that further characterization of nucleus pulposus material properties should be pursued, due to its significance in steady-state and transient disc mechanical response.


2006 ◽  
Vol 128 (4) ◽  
pp. 477-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Chakraborty ◽  
S. Gopalakrishnan

A new spectral plate element (SPE) is developed to analyze wave propagation in anisotropic laminated composite media. The element is based on the first-order laminated plate theory, which takes shear deformation into consideration. The element is formulated using the recently developed methodology of spectral finite element formulation based on the solution of a polynomial eigenvalue problem. By virtue of its frequency-wave number domain formulation, single element is sufficient to model large structures, where conventional finite element method will incur heavy cost of computation. The variation of the wave numbers with frequency is shown, which illustrates the inhomogeneous nature of the wave. The element is used to demonstrate the nature of the wave propagating in laminated composite due to mechanical impact and the effect of shear deformation on the mechanical response is demonstrated. The element is also upgraded to an active spectral plate clement for modeling open and closed loop vibration control of plate structures. Further, delamination is introduced in the SPE and scattered wave is captured for both broadband and modulated pulse loading.


2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbora Vojáčková ◽  
Jan Tippner ◽  
Petr Horáček ◽  
Luděk Praus ◽  
Václav Sebera ◽  
...  

Failure of a tree can be caused by a stem breakage, tree uprooting, or branch failure. While the pulling test is used for assessing the first two cases, there is no device-supported method to assess branch failure. A combination of the optical technique, pulling test, and deflection curve analysis could provide a device-supported tool for this kind of assessment. The aim of the work was to perform a structural analysis of branch response to static mechanical loading. The analyses were carried out by finite element simulations in ANSYS using beam tapered elements of elliptical cross-sections. The numerical analyses were verified by the pulling test combined with a sophisticated optical assessment of deflection evaluation. The Probabilistic Design System was used to find the parameters that influence branch mechanical response to loading considering the use of cantilever beam deflection for stability analysis. The difference in the branch’s deflection between the simulation and the experiment is 0.5% to 26%. The high variability may be explained by the variable modulus of the elasticity of branches. The finite element (FE) sensitivity analysis showed a higher significance of geometry parameters (diameter, length, tapering, elliptical cross-section) than material properties (elastic moduli). The anchorage rotation was found to be significant, implying that this parameter may affect the outcome in mechanical analysis of branch behavior. The branch anchorage can influence the deflection of the whole branch, which should be considered in stability assessment.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document