{"id":127467,"date":"2024-09-04T10:37:54","date_gmt":"2024-09-04T10:37:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/04\/python-fangs-inspired-a-fix-for-shoulder-injuries-common-in-sports\/"},"modified":"2024-09-04T10:37:54","modified_gmt":"2024-09-04T10:37:54","slug":"python-fangs-inspired-a-fix-for-shoulder-injuries-common-in-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/04\/python-fangs-inspired-a-fix-for-shoulder-injuries-common-in-sports\/","title":{"rendered":"Python fangs inspired a fix for shoulder injuries common in sports"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Python<\/div>


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Each year, 2 million Americans injure their shoulder\u2019s rotator cuff. That includes many teens, who may hurt their shoulder while participating in sports, such as baseball, volleyball and swimming. Many of these injuries are hard to treat. Only about one in three get surgical fixes. But a new type of device \u2014 inspired by snake teeth \u2014 might help more of those surgeries succeed<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons in the shoulder. Injuries here can include tears and inflammation<\/a> that cause pain and limit use of the joint. Surgical repairs are meant to fix a torn tendon, often reattaching it to the head of the arm bone. But sutures, or stitches, are anchored at only a few points in the tissue. That puts a lot of force on each point. That pulling can often retear the already fragile tendon.  <\/p>\n

A new medical device (illustrated at left) features tiny pythonlike teeth designed to hold fragile tissues without tearing. Researchers hope it will improve outcomes for those who have rotator-cuff surgery.<\/span>I. Kurtaliaj et al<\/em>\/Science Advances <\/em>2024<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With the likelihood of retearing, doctors sometimes decide not to operate. And even when they do, the treatments don\u2019t always work. Rotator-cuff surgeries fail between 20 and 94 percent of the time. <\/p>\n

Stavros Thomopoulos is a biomedical engineer at Columbia University in New York City. He\u2019s part of a team that designed a device to overcome this problem. It uses rows of small, pointed \u201cteeth\u201d that latch onto the tendon and bone. All those extra points of attachment spread and lessen the force on each part of the damaged tissue. Used along with standard sutures, it should lessen the risk of tearing. And that should improve treatment outcomes, researchers report in the June 28 Science Advances<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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Do you have a science question? We can help!<\/h2>\n

Submit your question here<\/a>, and we might answer it an upcoming issue of Science News Explores<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A better grip for shoulders <\/h2>\n

What inspired the new system? A predator with a strong grip.  <\/p>\n

Unlike teeth designed to cut \u2014 like a shark\u2019s razor-sharp triangles \u2014 a python\u2019s fangs are made to hold on tight. They curve inward. This means they dig deeper when an animal struggles. \u201cThis was kind of a lightbulb moment,\u201d recalls Thomopoulos. <\/p>\n

The team first calculated the best size and shape for teeth in the new device. To do this, they used computer simulations and math. Then they 3-D printed teeth, both singly and in sets. Afterward, they ran tests with the device to figure out the best tooth placement and grip.<\/p>\n

\"A
\u202fThe research team was inspired by the gripping power of a python\u2019s curved fangs.<\/span>Knightpics Photography\/Alamy Stock Photo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Afterward, the engineers partnered with surgeons. This team tested versions of the teeth on cadavers. (These human bodies were donated after death to use for science.)<\/p>\n

Each body got rotator-cuff tears in each shoulder. The team fixed one shoulder with only sutures. The other, they repaired with sutures and the new device.  <\/p>\n

\u201cWe mechanically tested the strength that the device was adding,\u201d says Iden Kurtaliaj. A bioengineer on the team, she works at the Icahn School of Medicine. It\u2019s at Mount Sinai in New York City. Shoulders repaired with their device had twice the holding strength as those without, their data show. <\/p>\n

\u201cA device like this is much more elegant than what [doctors] use now,\u201d says Eric Nauman. A biomedical engineer at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, he did not take part in the new work. \u201cAnything you can do for the shoulder right now is a win,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

But more steps are needed before such a device can be used to treat people.  <\/p>\n

The design needs to be tested in live animals to see if it\u2019s safe and works well long-term. That\u2019s according to Ghanashyam Acharya. A biomedical researcher who did not take part in the new study, he works at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. As the body heals, for example, the device\u2019s material could break down or injure the tendon, he notes. Still, he says, the concept is promising. He calls it a \u201csignificant and innovative first step\u201d toward more effective rotator-cuff surgeries.<\/p>\n


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Each year, 2 million Americans injure their shoulder\u2019s rotator cuff. That includes many teens, who may hurt their shoulder while participating in sports, such as baseball, volleyball and swimming. Many of these injuries are hard to treat. Only about one in three get surgical fixes. But a new type of device \u2014 inspired by snake […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":127468,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/070824_cy_python-inspired-device_feat.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[606],"tags":[5597,103000,12274,13939,1334,41232,31098,1023],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127467"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127467"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127467\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":127469,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127467\/revisions\/127469"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}