Experimental data (
Thornton et al., 1997) show that relaxation proceeds more rapidly (a greater slope on a log-log scale) than creep in ligament, a fact not explained by linear viscoelasticity. An interrelation between creep and relaxation is therefore developed for ligaments based on a single-integral nonlinear superposition model. This interrelation differs from the convolution relation obtained by Laplace transforms for linear materials. We demonstrate via continuum concepts of nonlinear viscoelasticity that such a difference in rate between creep and relaxation phenomenologically occurs when the nonlinearity is of a strain-stiffening type, i.e., the stress-strain curve is concave up as observed in ligament. We also show that it is inconsistent to assume a Fung-type constitutive law (
Fung, 1972) for both creep and relaxation. Using the published data of
Thornton et al. (1997), the nonlinear interrelation developed herein predicts creep behavior from relaxation data well (R ≥ 0.998). Although data are limited and the causal mechanisms associated with viscoelastic tissue behavior are complex, continuum concepts demonstrated here appear capable of interrelating creep and relaxation with fidelity.