Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the biomechanical characteristics of ankle joint injury and biomaterial intervention treatment, to classify and summarize the treatment means and mechanisms after ankle joint injury.
METHODS: A computer search was conducted on PubMed database (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed) from 1998 to 2007 and CNKI Database (www.cnki.net / index.htm) from 2003 to 2009, using “ankle joint, injury, biological materials, treatment” in English and in Chinese as key words in the title and summary. Articles about ankle joint injury, treatment, material science characteristics and biocompatibility were included, totally 22 articles.
RESULTS: The ankle joint is the bounce starter of human body, also the landing buffer unit. Ankle ligament injury is common because of several internal and external factors in exercise. Currently ankle ligament rehabilitation therapy is physical therapy and surgical repair, or a combination treatment of the two. With the advances of modern medicine, the biomaterial intervention of tendon healing is developing.
CONCLUSION: Because the ankle joint is a weight-bearing joint, bearing large violence, and other factors such as complex stress, ankle joint requires a high ligament function, which is a potential problem of applying biomaterials on ankle ligament injury rehabilitation. Current researches have achieved good results in simulating the function of autologous ligament through many tries such as ligament material selection, processing and surface modification. With the advancement of cell biology, molecular biology methods and technologies, as well as the use of gene therapy, the studies on the repair of tendon ligament injury will enter a new phase, also provides possibility and evidence for proper use of biomaterials for ankle ligament.