Stem cell therapy for tendon injury.

Tendon injury may occur suddenly or progressively, and can be divided into tendon rupture or tendinopathy based on the severity of injury. It is frequently found in professional or nonprofessional people who are making repetitive movements. In aged people, tendon degeneration becomes obvious; their tendon injuries are then frequently evident. No effective therapies for tendon injury are currently available. In this article, we review the tendon structure, mechanisms of tendon injury, and tendon healing process. More importantly, cell-based therapies for tendon injury are fully addressed, which will play an important role for tendon therapy in the near future.