Ligament

Other ligaments in the body include the: "Ligament" most commonly refers to a band of dense regular connective tissue bundles made of collagenous fibers, with bundles protected by dense irregular connective tissue sheaths.

Intra-capsular ligaments, which are much less common,[citation needed] also provide stability but permit a far larger range of motion.

However, they cannot retain their original shape when extended past a certain point or for a prolonged period of time.

Athletes, gymnasts, dancers, and martial artists perform stretching exercises to lengthen their ligaments, making their joints more supple.

The term hypermobility refers to the characteristic of people with more-elastic ligaments, allowing their joints to stretch and contort further; this is sometimes still called double-jointedness.

Instability of a joint can over time lead to wear of the cartilage and eventually to osteoarthritis.

Artificial ligaments are a synthetic material composed of a polymer, such as polyacrylonitrile fiber, polypropylene, PET (polyethylene terephthalate), or polyNaSS poly (sodium styrene sulfonate).