TY - JOUR
TI - Biomechanical behavior and viscoelastic properties of peripheral nerves subjected to tensile stress: Common injuries and current repair techniques
AU - Papagiannis, G.
AU - Triantafyllou, A.
AU - Stasi, S.
AU - Yiannopoulou, K.G.
AU - Papathanasiou, G.
AU - Mitsiokapa, E.
AU - Papadopoulos, E.C.
AU - Papagelopoulos, P.J.
AU - Koulouvaris, P.
JO - Critical Reviews™ in Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine
PY - 2020
VL - 32
TODO - 3
SP - 155-168
PB - Begell House, Inc
SN - 0896-2960
TODO - 10.1615/CritRevPhysRehabilMed.2020034798
TODO - Article;  biomechanics;  human;  human tissue;  nerve injury;  nerve potential;  nervous tissue;  neurorehabilitation;  peripheral nerve;  physical stress;  physiotherapy;  priority journal;  systematic review;  tensile strength;  tissue repair;  viscoelasticity
TODO - External trauma to the extremities and nerve entrapment may produce mechanical deformation of peripheral nerves that results in deterioration of nerve function. Following a nerve injury, several repair methods have been described. The biomechanical properties of nerve bridge conjunctions are of great importance in developing physiotherapy protocols in rehabilitation science. The purpose of this study was to review the structural and biomechanical properties of peripheral nerves, to identify nerve response to physical tensile stress and the nerve injuries caused by such stress, and to identify current nerve tissue repair techniques. To this end, a search of PubMed, Medline, EMBASE, AMED, CINAHL, Scopus, and Google Scholar using relevant key words turned up nearly 2,000 relevant articles. After a long selection process, 39 articles were chosen for study on the basis of their fit with speci-fied inclusion criteria. Peripheral nerves are viscoelastic tissues with unique biomechanical characteristics. Tensile strength, which includes elastic limit and mechanical failure, is a vital parameter in neurorehabilitation science. Since many physiotherapy methods engage nerve tissue stretching techniques to treat corresponding pathologies, rehabilitation professionals should take into account the biomechanical properties of peripheral nerves when practicing treatment protocols aiming for this tissue. Tissue reconstruction studies are investigating many new methods of nerve healing. Biomechanical properties of nerve tissue should be considered following any repair method to protect and promote the healing process as well as to gain the best rehabilitation result when new physiotherapy protocols are introduced. Further research should correlate the effect of optimal mechanical loading during the healing process. © 2020, Begell House Inc.. All rights reserved.
ER -