Tendons are the fibrous cords that connect muscle to bone.
The four-year grant, a continuation of earlier funding, is from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases at the National Institutes of Health. Gelberman has been studying tendon healing since 1976. According to the National Safety Council, about 30 percent of acute workplace injuries are to hands and fingers. Of those, more than 350,000 require extensive tendon surgery. The scarring that occurs from such surgery causes poor range of motion.