Research advances on tendon-bone healing in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

Rupture of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a common sports injury. It will cause knee osteoarthritis because of joint instability and acceleration of degenerative changes after injury. Arthroscopic reconstruction with a tendon graft is a common procedure to achieve function recovery. A series of histological changes and structural modification happened between the tendon and bone tunnel after ACL reconstruction and complete tendon-bone healing was achieved finally. A number of factors affects the healing process which determined the long-term result of the treatment. Published literatures reported that about 11%-32% patients underwent ACL reconstruction were not satisfied with the results and 10% of them required reoperation. Studies on the tendon-bone healing have long been a research hotspot in sports medicine. Controversy still remains not only on the fundamental healing process but also on the stimulating factors despite of a large amount of researches on its physiological basis, influencing factors, et al. This article provides a review of the basis and influence factors of the healing process, and summarizes the methods to accelerate the process of tendon-bone healing.