diff --git a/Sofa/Component/SolidMechanics/FEM/Elastic/src/sofa/component/solidmechanics/fem/elastic/impl/rotations/PolarDecomposition.h b/Sofa/Component/SolidMechanics/FEM/Elastic/src/sofa/component/solidmechanics/fem/elastic/impl/rotations/PolarDecomposition.h
index fc96cd6db28..90cbe335167 100644
--- a/Sofa/Component/SolidMechanics/FEM/Elastic/src/sofa/component/solidmechanics/fem/elastic/impl/rotations/PolarDecomposition.h
+++ b/Sofa/Component/SolidMechanics/FEM/Elastic/src/sofa/component/solidmechanics/fem/elastic/impl/rotations/PolarDecomposition.h
@@ -66,7 +66,18 @@ struct PolarDecomposition
 
         const auto H = P.multTranspose(Q);
 
-        sofa::helper::Decompose<sofa::Real_t<DataTypes>>::polarDecomposition(H, rotationMatrix);
+        // H = F M, with F the deformation gradient and M = Q^T Q
+        auto M = Q.multTranspose(Q);
+
+        // Scale M so that small elements do not test as singular. Polar ignores the scale.
+        M = M / sofa::type::trace(M);
+
+        // F = H M^-1. Embedded elements, e.g. triangles in 3D, keep H due to singular M.
+        RotationMatrix inverseM(sofa::type::NOINIT);
+        const bool isInvertible = inverseM.invert(M);
+        const auto F = isInvertible ? H * inverseM : H;
+
+        sofa::helper::Decompose<sofa::Real_t<DataTypes>>::polarDecomposition(F, rotationMatrix);
     }
 
     static constexpr sofa::helper::Item getItem()
diff --git a/Sofa/Component/SolidMechanics/FEM/Elastic/tests/CMakeLists.txt b/Sofa/Component/SolidMechanics/FEM/Elastic/tests/CMakeLists.txt
index 756b079090b..de1f9c47f95 100644
--- a/Sofa/Component/SolidMechanics/FEM/Elastic/tests/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/Sofa/Component/SolidMechanics/FEM/Elastic/tests/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ set(SOURCE_FILES
     HexahedralFEMForceField_test.cpp
     HexahedronFEMForceField_test.cpp
     LinearSmallStrainFEMForceField_test.cpp
+    PolarDecomposition_test.cpp
     StrainDisplacement_test.cpp
     TetrahedralCorotationalFEMForceField_test.cpp
     TetrahedronFEMForceField_stepTest.cpp
diff --git a/Sofa/Component/SolidMechanics/FEM/Elastic/tests/PolarDecomposition_test.cpp b/Sofa/Component/SolidMechanics/FEM/Elastic/tests/PolarDecomposition_test.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..17fa8924120
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Sofa/Component/SolidMechanics/FEM/Elastic/tests/PolarDecomposition_test.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,146 @@
+/******************************************************************************
+*                 SOFA, Simulation Open-Framework Architecture                *
+*                    (c) 2006 INRIA, USTL, UJF, CNRS, MGH                     *
+*                                                                             *
+* This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it     *
+* under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by    *
+* the Free Software Foundation; either version 2.1 of the License, or (at     *
+* your option) any later version.                                             *
+*                                                                             *
+* This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT *
+* ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or       *
+* FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU Lesser General Public License *
+* for more details.                                                           *
+*                                                                             *
+* You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License    *
+* along with this program. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.        *
+*******************************************************************************
+* Authors: The SOFA Team and external contributors (see Authors.txt)          *
+*                                                                             *
+* Contact information: contact@sofa-framework.org                             *
+******************************************************************************/
+#include <sofa/component/solidmechanics/fem/elastic/impl/rotations/PolarDecomposition.h>
+#include <gtest/gtest.h>
+#include <sofa/defaulttype/VecTypes.h>
+
+#include <cmath>
+#include <numbers>
+
+namespace sofa
+{
+
+using namespace sofa::component::solidmechanics::fem::elastic;
+
+namespace
+{
+
+using sofa::defaulttype::Vec2Types;
+using sofa::defaulttype::Vec3Types;
+
+template <class DataTypes>
+using Matrix = typename PolarDecomposition<DataTypes>::RotationMatrix;
+
+template <class DataTypes, std::size_t N>
+using Nodes = std::array<sofa::Coord_t<DataTypes>, N>;
+
+constexpr SReal degreeToRadian = std::numbers::pi_v<SReal> / 180;
+
+Matrix<Vec2Types> rotation(SReal angle)
+{
+    return {{std::cos(angle), -std::sin(angle)}, {std::sin(angle), std::cos(angle)}};
+}
+
+/// Rotation by an angle about an axis.
+Matrix<Vec3Types> rotation(const sofa::type::Vec3& axis, SReal angle)
+{
+    const auto K = sofa::type::crossProductMatrix(axis.normalized());
+    return Matrix<Vec3Types>::Identity() + K * std::sin(angle) + K * K * (1 - std::cos(angle));
+}
+
+const Matrix<Vec2Types> stretch2D {{1.5, 0.0}, {0.0, 1.0}};
+const Matrix<Vec3Types> stretch3D {{1.5, 0.0, 0.0}, {0.0, 1.0, 0.0}, {0.0, 0.0, 1.0}};
+
+const Nodes<Vec2Types, 4> square {
+    sofa::type::Vec2(0.0, 0.0), sofa::type::Vec2(1.0, 0.0),
+    sofa::type::Vec2(1.0, 1.0), sofa::type::Vec2(0.0, 1.0)};
+const Nodes<Vec2Types, 3> triangle {
+    sofa::type::Vec2(0.0, 0.0), sofa::type::Vec2(1.0, 0.0), sofa::type::Vec2(0.0, 1.0)};
+const Nodes<Vec3Types, 8> cube {
+    sofa::type::Vec3(0.0, 0.0, 0.0), sofa::type::Vec3(1.0, 0.0, 0.0),
+    sofa::type::Vec3(1.0, 1.0, 0.0), sofa::type::Vec3(0.0, 1.0, 0.0),
+    sofa::type::Vec3(0.0, 0.0, 1.0), sofa::type::Vec3(1.0, 0.0, 1.0),
+    sofa::type::Vec3(1.0, 1.0, 1.0), sofa::type::Vec3(0.0, 1.0, 1.0)};
+const Nodes<Vec3Types, 4> tetrahedron {
+    sofa::type::Vec3(0.0, 0.0, 0.0), sofa::type::Vec3(1.0, 0.0, 0.0),
+    sofa::type::Vec3(0.0, 1.0, 0.0), sofa::type::Vec3(0.0, 0.0, 1.0)};
+
+const sofa::type::Vec3 axis(1.0, 2.0, 3.0);
+
+/// Moves the nodes by the deformation gradient F = R U and checks that PolarDecomposition extracts
+/// R from their positions. The tests pass either a pure rotation, F = R, or a pure stretch, F = U
+/// with R = I.
+template <class DataTypes, std::size_t N>
+void expectRotation(const Nodes<DataTypes, N>& restPositions, const Matrix<DataTypes>& F,
+                    const Matrix<DataTypes>& expected)
+{
+    Nodes<DataTypes, N> positions;
+    for (std::size_t j = 0; j < N; ++j)
+    {
+        positions[j] = F * restPositions[j];
+    }
+
+    Matrix<DataTypes> R;
+    PolarDecomposition<DataTypes>().computeRotation(R, Matrix<DataTypes>::Identity(), positions, restPositions);
+
+    for (std::size_t i = 0; i < DataTypes::spatial_dimensions; ++i)
+    {
+        for (std::size_t j = 0; j < DataTypes::spatial_dimensions; ++j)
+        {
+            EXPECT_NEAR(R(i, j), expected(i, j), 1e-10) << "R(" << i << ", " << j << ")";
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+}
+
+TEST(PolarDecomposition, squareRotated)
+{
+    expectRotation<Vec2Types>(square, rotation(30 * degreeToRadian), rotation(30 * degreeToRadian));
+}
+
+TEST(PolarDecomposition, triangleRotated)
+{
+    expectRotation<Vec2Types>(triangle, rotation(30 * degreeToRadian), rotation(30 * degreeToRadian));
+}
+
+TEST(PolarDecomposition, squareStretched)
+{
+    expectRotation<Vec2Types>(square, stretch2D, Matrix<Vec2Types>::Identity());
+}
+
+TEST(PolarDecomposition, triangleStretched)
+{
+    expectRotation<Vec2Types>(triangle, stretch2D, Matrix<Vec2Types>::Identity());
+}
+
+TEST(PolarDecomposition, cubeRotated)
+{
+    expectRotation<Vec3Types>(cube, rotation(axis, 30 * degreeToRadian), rotation(axis, 30 * degreeToRadian));
+}
+
+TEST(PolarDecomposition, tetrahedronRotated)
+{
+    expectRotation<Vec3Types>(tetrahedron, rotation(axis, 30 * degreeToRadian), rotation(axis, 30 * degreeToRadian));
+}
+
+TEST(PolarDecomposition, cubeStretched)
+{
+    expectRotation<Vec3Types>(cube, stretch3D, Matrix<Vec3Types>::Identity());
+}
+
+TEST(PolarDecomposition, tetrahedronStretched)
+{
+    expectRotation<Vec3Types>(tetrahedron, stretch3D, Matrix<Vec3Types>::Identity());
+}
+
+}