Fatigue is more damaging than creep in ligament revealed by modulus reduction and residual strength

Following injury of a complementary joint restraint, ligaments can be subjected to higher than normal stresses. Normal ligaments are exposed to static (creep) and cyclic (fatigue) loading from which damage can accumulate at these higher than normal stresses. This study tracked damage accumulation during creep and fatigue loading of normal rabbit medial collateral ligaments (MCLs) over a range of stresses, using modulus reduction as a marker of damage. Creep tests were interrupted occasionally with unloading/reloading cycles to measure modulus. Test stresses were normalized to ultimate tensile strength (UTS): 60%, 30%, and 15% UTS. Not all creep and fatigues tests progressed until rupture but were stopped and followed by an assessment of the residual strength of that partially damaged ligament using a monotonic failure test. Fatigue loading caused earlier modulus reduction than creep. Modulus reduction occurred at lower increases in strain (strain relative to initial strain) for fatigue than creep. In other words, at the same time or increase in strain, fatigue is more damaging than creep because the modulus ratio reduction is greater. These findings suggest that creep and fatigue have different strain and damage mechanisms. Ligaments exposed to creep or fatigue loading which produced a modulus reduction had decreased residual strength and increased toe-region strain in a subsequent monotonic failure test. This finding confirmed that modulus reduction during creep and fatigue is a suitable marker of partial damage in ligament. Cyclic loading caused damage earlier than static loading, likely an important consideration when ligaments are loaded to higher than normal magnitudes following injury of a complementary joint restraint.