Anisotropy of osteoporotic cancellous bone

Sugita, H.; Oka, M.; Toguchida, J.; Nakamura, T.; Ueo, T.; Hayami, T.

Affiliations

¹Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

²Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

³Department Orthopaedic Surgery, Tamatsukuri Kouseinenkin Hospital, Shimane, Japan

⁴Department of Mechanical Systems Engineering, Kinki University, Hiroshima, Japan

Abstract and keywords

To investigate the mechanism underlying femoral neck fracture, it is necessary to determine the various mechanical properties, including the bone strength, of the primary compressive group. We investigated the mechanical anisotrophy of the primary compressive group by comparing differences in its mechanical properties, depending on the loading direction. Twenty-three femoral heads of 20 female and 3 male patients with femoral neck fracture were studied. The mean age of these patients was 79.9 years (range, 63–98 years). A total of 82 cubic specimens (6.5 mm in length) were obtained (one to six specimens from each femoral head). The specimens obtained from each femoral head were randomly assigned into two groups: parallel and perpendicular. The parallel group included 43 specimens, and the perpendicular group included 39 specimens. A compressive load was applied either parallel or perpendicular to the primary compressive group of the specimens in each respective group. Three parameters were obtained: compressive stiffness, maximum stress, and maximum energy. We calculated the regression of three parameters against the square of the apparent dry density. These mechanical properties were compared between the two groups by testing the difference of the slopes in two regression lines by using analyses of covariance, in which two main effects of group (nominal value) and the square of the apparent dry density (continuous value) and an interaction between two factors were modeled. Three parameters were significantly correlated with the square of the apparent dry density in both groups. In all three measurements, the difference of the slopes between two regression lines was significantly different. This means that all three measurements decreased in the parallel group more than in the perpendicular one, as apparent dry density decreased. We consider that the bone strength of the proximal femur decreases more when stress is applied in the longitudinal direction (as in walking) and less when stress is applied in the transverse direction (as in a fall) when bone density decreases.

Keywords: Femoral neck fracture; Osteoporosis; Compressive test; Anisotropy of cancellous bone; Primary compressive group; Mechanical strength

Links

DOI: 10.1016/S8756-3282(99)00021-6

PubMed: 10321912

WoS: 000079954600010

History

Received: 1998-07-21

Revised: 1999-01-13

Accepted: 1999-01-13

Online: 1999-04-15

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Cited By (15)

Year	Entry
2006	McNamara LM, Ederveen AGH, Lyons CG, Price C, Schaffler MB, Weinans H, Prendergast PJ. Strength of cancellous bone trabecular tissue from normal, ovariectomized and drug-treated rats over the course of ageing. Bone. August 2006;39(2):392-400.
2018	Zhao S, Arnold M, Ma S, Abel RL, Cobb JP, Hansen U, Boughton O. Standardizing compression testing for measuring the stiffness of human bone. Bone Joint Res. August 2018;7(8):524-538.
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2000	Simmons CA. Modelling and Characterization of Mechanically Regulated Tissue Formation Around Bone-Interfacing Implants [PhD thesis]. University of Toronto; 2000.