Mechanical strength of mediopatellar plica--the influence of its fiber content.

Background: The fibrous mediopatellar plica can cause high contact pressure on the adjacent articular cartilage and lead to its degeneration. The purpose of this study was to investigate the biomechanical properties of the plica and to correlate this with the plica's fiber content and patients' ages.

Methods: An experimental study on the tensile strength of the mediopatellar plica was conducted using high precision micro-force tensile tests.