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The Effects of Age and Skeletal Maturity on Healing of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament

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The ACL Handbook

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Abstract

While conventional orthopaedic wisdom tells us that “kids heal faster than adults” for bone fractures, the effect of age on ligament healing is less well understood. To define this effect, a series of experiments were conducted to look at the effect of age on ligament healing. The results demonstrated that skeletally immature animals heal faster and more effectively than adult animals, due to improved cellular processes of migration and proliferation within the wound site. These cellular functions may be better in younger animals due to an increased presence of growth factor receptors on the young cells, which may make them better able to respond to the biologically active wound site. In this chapter, we will report on these results in greater detail.

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Acknowledgement

Research reported in this chapter was supported by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number RO1-AR054099. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Linda H. Chao BA

  2. The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Linda H. Chao BA

  3. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Division of Sports Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Martha M. Murray MD

Authors
  1. Linda H. Chao BA
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  2. Martha M. Murray MD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Linda H. Chao BA .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Longwood Avenue 300, Boston, 02115, Massachusetts, USA

    Martha M. Murray

  2. Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Longwood Avenue 300, Boston, 02115, Massachusetts, USA

    Patrick Vavken

  3. Brown University, Rhode Island Hospital, Warren Alpert Medical School, Hoppin Street 1, Providence, 02903, Rhode Island, USA

    Braden Fleming

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Chao, L.H., Murray, M.M. (2013). The Effects of Age and Skeletal Maturity on Healing of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament. In: Murray, M., Vavken, P., Fleming, B. (eds) The ACL Handbook. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0760-7_22

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0760-7_22

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-0759-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-0760-7

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