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Thread: Tendon Damaged

  1. #1
    Moderator Suet Seung's Avatar
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    Default Tendon Damaged

    Remember how Madame Ma and many other characters when they had their tendon slit and damaged, they could not function their arms and legs. Does that really work in reality?

    Maybe Han Solo or somebody familiar with anatomy can explain. I know this is probably a real simple question. I just want to understand how tendons work in relation to the body. So if someone had their tendons severed or damaged, they're rendered handicap for life?
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    Moderator Ken Cheng's Avatar
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    I'm no medical expert, but I'll say this much: the only kind of tissue that cannot regenerate itself at the cellular level is nerve tissue. Bone tissue, cartilage tisue, muscle tissue (of which tendons would be a part): all these naturally regenerate over time.

  3. #3
    Senior Member Han Solo's Avatar
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    SS,

    Tendon are the attachement of muscles onto bones. They are made of connective tissues primarily.

    Ken is right in saying that most severed tendon can be regenerated, however that depends on the extent of the damage.

    For example, a severed achilles tendon in modern medicine can be treated conservatively with a plaster and no movement for weeks, but even there are chances of failure. Therefore, in sporty athlethic persons, we operate on them to reattach the tendon.

    In wuxia terms, therefore, there are chances that someone with severed tendon are unable to heal on its own, and are severely hampered in movement.

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    Registered User JamesG's Avatar
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    Many people don't know that many North American Indian tribes practised slavery and the slave trade long before Europeans arrived in North America. Some West Coast tribes cut the tendon at the back of the knee of slaves that had run away. They didn't do much running after that!

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    Moderator Suet Seung's Avatar
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    Hmm...It just seems like in most Wuxia series or period series they make it so dramatic that an enemy cut a characters in the tendons of their limbs that they totally lose function of their arms and legs. Or is this a difference in modern medical technology?
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    I would guess things like infection and whatnot would be a bigger complication back then. Plus most people who get their tendons cut by their enemies are not really in the optimal situation for healing. Then again, they do have inner power which presumably would help the healing.
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    Senior Member Ren Ying Ying's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Suet Seung View Post
    Hmm...It just seems like in most Wuxia series or period series they make it so dramatic that an enemy cut a characters in the tendons of their limbs that they totally lose function of their arms and legs. Or is this a difference in modern medical technology?
    i imagine it's like cutting off your fingers? in modern medicine, if you reattach them fast enough, you might be able to get some basic functions back. But back then, once they're gone...they're done for (unless you had some crazy special type of art, maybe?)

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    Member missouri.slim's Avatar
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    Part of the problem would be surviving long enough to heal. If someone is mad enough at you to cut a tendon, someone else is probably mad enough to finish the job. If not, Leading the liife of a martial master appears not to involve much relaxing, at least in the books I've read and the films I've seen. A couple of months of being immobilized just isn't an option. Further, if someone is cutting a tendon, they probably dont care too much about how cleanly they do it, so any near by nerves stand a good chance of being damaged as well.

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    Member Lifeburner's Avatar
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    Like what Han Solo said, tendons are parts of muscles that attach to the bones. However, tendons are non-contractile, unlike muscle. So, their only function is to connect the contractile part of the muscle with the bone. Which means, if you ONLY cut the tendon, without severing the nerves and muscles, then all you need to do is reattach it, and problem's solved. After the wound's healed, there should be no significant problem in movements. "Limping" couldn't be caused by merely tendon problems. I'd say nerve problem's involved.
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    Senior Member kyss of the sword's Avatar
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    if the tendon is damaged, then if a doctor who knows his stuff can reattach it through surgery, then the damage can be healed, but surgery was not a part of medicine in ancient china, it was a part of indian medicine aabout two thousand years ago, and since there was considerable traffic between them, an central plains medical expert who visited india could have learned surgical skills. through a lot of the traiffic between india and china took place through persian traders. in the sword and the exquistness, a gu long novel, the villian black jade was said to have had learned persian surgical skills to change people's appearances, but plastic surgery actually was created in india.
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