Connective tissue

Connective tissue is tissue composed of fibers that absorb the forces generated by movement. It serves as supportive tissue. Essentially, all tissues in the body contain connective tissue.

Structures that fall under connective tissue include bones, cartilage, ligaments, the joint capsule, muscles, tendons, nerve tissue, blood vessels, skin, and scars.

Properties

Connective tissue has the ability to produce different types of cells. The functions of these cells are specifically tailored to the demands placed on the tissue. Connective tissue contains different cells with distinct functions. Two important cells for the musculoskeletal system are collagen cells and elastic cells.

The more collagen cells there are, the stiffer the connective tissue. If more elastic cells are present, more movement is possible. Blood vessels contain many elastic cells. Therefore, they are very flexible and mobile. The functional differences between a muscle and a tendon are mainly due to the different proportions of collagen and elastic cells.

Connective tissue adapts to the loads placed on it. A muscle you use more often will become stronger; the opposite also occurs. There is daily breakdown of tissue, but also immediate new formation. This is very useful. Mainly during growth, but also during training.

Function of connective tissue

During a period of reduced or no movement, the stimulus that promotes tissue formation disappears and breakdown predominates. As a result, the quality of the connective tissue decreases and the tissue becomes weaker. This happens, for example, due to illness, an injury, or when less training or movement takes place than normal.

It is clear that connective tissue adapts to the demanded load. Nevertheless, connective tissue of the skeleton, muscles, or skin can be damaged under the influence of heavy or excessive loading.

Damaged tissues, such as a broken bone or a muscle tear, can repair themselves by forming new connective tissue cells. This new formation is important for injury recovery. The newly formed cells are initially general connective tissue cells. Once the wound is completely filled with these cells, they adapt to the required function and load demands. This occurs under the influence of movement. However, the original structure never recovers 100%; it remains a repair.

Rehabilitation

The formation and remodeling of (new) tissue plays a crucial role in rehabilitation. This means applying the right load at the right time and allowing sufficient recovery time. This ensures that as many cells as possible adapt to the required load. This adaptation can take more than a year.

A good example is the anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in the knee. Tendon tissue is used, which adapts during rehabilitation to become a new ligament. This change in tissue type takes one to two years.

Find a physical therapist who can help you with your rehabilitation.