Biomaterials for the Treatment of Tendon Injury

Abstract

Background: Most tendon injuries are occurring from a gradual wearing and tearing of the tendon tissues from overuse. Such injuries are usually seen in sports, exercising, or daily activities that involve a high mechanical load and weight bearing. However, owing to the lack of both cellularity and blood vessels in tendons, the process of tendon repair is slow and inefficient. Although various conservative (non-surgical) and surgical management options are conducted by the clinicians, a gold standard of these approaches does not exist. In this regard, the treatment of tendon injuries is challenging. Method: Here, we describe the recent advances of biomaterial-based approaches for the treatment of injured tendons. Results: Regenerative medicine is an emerging multidisciplinary research that specializes in the repair of damaged tendon tissues through the delivery of regenerative factors by biomaterials. Conclusion: Although current biomaterial-based treatment strategies have shown their potential for tendon healing, future research and clinical applications should focused on finding the optimum combinations of regenerative factors with ideal biomaterials for the repair of tendons.