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Old March 13th 10, 06:35 AM posted to uk.rec.motorcycles,rec.skiing.resorts.europe
Ace[_3_]
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Posts: 177
Default When it's not your time to die

On Sat, 13 Mar 2010 02:20:56 GMT, "SP" wrote:

YTC#1 wrote:

On Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:17:10 +0000, ts wrote:




I hope she'll enjoy several decades of pleasant life, as soon the
ligaments heal.


Ligaments don't heal :-(


Yes they do. Eventually...


No. They don't. If a ligament is stretched or partially torn, the only
healing will be to the other damaged tissues around it. The ligament
itself will remain in its stretched state[1]. If it's snapped it's
snapped forever.

ACL replacement surgery is very common these days, which usually takes
the hamstring tendon, split in half down the middle, together with the
bone it's attached to, and screws it in place of where the ligament
used to be. Tendon and ligament are effectively the same material, but
the former is in a more 'live' state which can regrow and heal,
whereas once it's stopped being pulled by muscles all the time it
stabilises into another more static state.

[1] Which is why I'm destined to be taking painkillers for the rest of
my life, after all the ligaments attaching my ribs to my spine were
ripped and torn by my big smash a few years ago.
--
Ace
Ski Club of Great Britain http://www.skiclub.co.uk/
All opinions expressed are those of the poster and in no way reflect those of the Ski Club or its members
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