Plantar flexor deficits following Achilles tendon rupture: A novel small animal dynamometer and detailed instructions

Plantar flexor functional deficits measured using joint dynamometry are associated with poor outcomes in patients following Achilles tendon rupture. In this study, we developed a small animal dynamometer to quantify functional deficits in a rat Achilles tendon rupture model. Like our reported planta...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of biomechanics Vol. 145; p. 111393
Main Authors Tang, My M., Nuss, Courtney A., Fogarty, Natalie, Baxter, Josh R.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Elsevier Ltd 01.12.2022
Elsevier Limited
Subjects
Achilles tendon
Achilles Tendon - injuries
Animal models
Animals
Ankle
Dissection
Dynamometers
Dynamometry
Experiments
Function
Muscle contraction
Orthopaedic surgery
Patients
Plantar flexion
Preclinical model
Range of motion
Rat
Rats
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Rehabilitation
Rupture
Tears
Tendons
Function
Dynamometry
Rehabilitation
Rat
Preclinical model
Orthopaedic surgery
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Summary:Plantar flexor functional deficits measured using joint dynamometry are associated with poor outcomes in patients following Achilles tendon rupture. In this study, we developed a small animal dynamometer to quantify functional deficits in a rat Achilles tendon rupture model. Like our reported plantar flexor deficits in patients recovering from Achilles tendon ruptures, we found in our small animal model functional deficits across the ankle range of motion, resulting in an average 34% less positive work being done compared to the uninjured contralateral limb. These functional deficits are similar to 38% less plantar flexor work done by patients who were treated non-surgically in our prior research. Further, these torque deficits were greater in plantar flexion than dorsiflexion, which agree with clinical complaints of limited function during tasks like jumping and hiking. These findings serve as compelling evidence that our Sprague Dawley rat model of an Achilles tendon rupture recapitulates the functional deficits we observed in patients treated nonsurgically. We provide thorough documentation for other groups to build their own dynamometers, which can be modified to meet unique experimental criteria.
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AUTHORS’ CONTRIBUTIONS MT and JB designed the experiment; all authors performed the experiment; JB analyzed the data; MT and JB drafted the manuscript; all authors revised the intellectual content of the manuscript; all authors approved the final version of the manuscript
ISSN:0021-9290
1873-2380
DOI:10.1016/j.jbiomech.2022.111393