Study on the mechanical differences between single-row belt rivets and double-row suture bridge in repairing rotator cuff injury

Abstract

To compare and analyze the mechanical differences between single-row suture anchor fixation for repairing rotator cuff injuries and double-row suture bridges for repairing rotator cuff injuries from a biomechanical perspective. The CT scan data of healthy adult shoulder joint were imported into Mimics, Geomagics and Hypermesh to carry out reverse reconstruction of two repair models, material assignment and mesh division, and the tearing of supraspinatus muscle was designed. After treatments, the load and boundary conditions were applied to the shoulder joint in ABAQUS software. The shoulder joint was fixed with four working conditions including flexion 15 °, flexion 30 °, internal rotation 15 ° and internal rotation 30 ° after anchor fixationand repair. The stress changes of the upper rotator cuff muscle and the anchor with thread were compared under these four conditions. Under the two flexion conditions, the stress of the supraspinatus in the double row suture bridge fixation model was 8.3% and 12% less than that in the single-row suture anchor fixation, respectively. Under the two internal rotation conditions, the stress of supraspinatus in the double row suture bridge fixation model was 47% and 48% less than that in the single row fixation repair model, respectively. The "load sharing" effect between the two rows of four anchors makes the stress distribution more dispersed, increases the contact area between the supraspinatus muscle and the humerus, reduces the stress of the anchor, avoids the serious stress concentration phenomenon, and explains the advantages of the fixation method of the double row suture bridge from the biomechanical angle.