Enhancing Bone Accretion Using Short-Duration, Low-Level Mechanical Vibrations
Abstract
The etiology of the stress fractyre syndrome is incompetely understood but it is clear that skeletons with high peak bone quantity and quality will be better pretected against incurring this crippling condition. Here, we investigated whether extremely small magnitude (0.3g) but high-frequency (45Hz) mechanical vibrations can alter indices of bone formation, bone resorption, and bone morphology in the growing mouse sksleton. Eight-week-old male BALB/cByJ mice were divided into (1) baseline control, (2) age-matched control, and (3) vibration groups. Vibrations were applied for 15 min/d, either continuously or interrupted by "rest-periods". Mice were sacrificed after either 3wk or 6wk. Three weeks of vibrations applied continuously for 15 min/d decreased osteoclastic bone resorption (Oc.S/BS) by 31% (p<0.05) in the trabecular metaphysis and by 33% (p<0.05) in the trabecular epiphysis of the tibia while "rest-inserted" loading was ineffective. Low level vibrations applied for 6-wk led to significantly enhanced trabecular bone volume fraction (10%, p<0.05) in the tibial epiphysis and thicker trabeculae (5%, p<0.05) in the tibial and femoral metaphysis. In summary, an extremely low-level mechanical stimulus, inducing deformations orders of magnitude below those that can actually damage bone, was capable of decreasing bone resorption and enhancing bone morphology - effects that may help to reduce the incidence of stress fractures and to avoid skeletal pathologies later in life.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA430706
Entities
People
- Stefan Judex
Organizations
- State University of New York