Assessment of tension between bone anchors

A system for interconnecting bones, the system comprising:

• an implantable member configured to be mechanically coupled to a first bone, configured to be mechanically coupled to a second bone, configured to provide substantially no resistance to compression of the implantable member, configured to support a tensile load within a predetermined range of tensile loads extending from a first load to a second load, configured to have a predetermined elasticity within the range of tensile loads, configured to have a first width at the first load, the first width being generally transverse to the first load at the first load, and configured to have a second width at the second load, the second width being generally transverse to the second load at the second load;
• a means for measuring the first width and the second width;
• and
• a means for calculating a tension between the first bone and the second bone based on the first width and the second width.