Chapter 7 - Ligaments

Abstract

As with all structural tissues of the body, ligaments play an important functional role in biomechanics. However, the small size and interwoven complexity of ligaments of the foot and ankle has traditionally made research on their behavior much more difficult to study than other, larger ligaments of the body, such as the anterior cruciate ligament. This chapter details several key ligaments and ligament groups, noting their anatomy and function, and the key literature that describes their mechanical and physiological behavior. The effects of age, disease, and common pathologies on ligament tissue are briefly reviewed as to their impact on tissue biomechanics. Additionally, the unique morphology of each ligament as well as their viscoelastic nature, tissue environment conditions, and complex geometry present challenges to the evaluation of mechanical properties via traditional mechanical testing fixation strategies. This chapter provides an overview of prior work done to determine foot and ankle ligament mechanical properties, with special emphasis on challenges facing these investigations, and potential directions toward overcoming them.