Introduction Altered local mechanical loading may disrupt normal cartilage homeostasis and play a role in the progression of osteoarthritis. Currently, there is limited data quantifying local cartilage strains in response to dynamic activity in normal or injured knees. Purpose The purpose of this study was to directly measure local tibiofemoral cartilage strains in response to a dynamic hopping activity in normal healthy knees. We hypothesize that local regions of cartilage will exhibit significant compressive strains in response to hopping, while overall compartmental averages may not. Study Design Controlled laboratory study. Methods Both knees of eight healthy subjects were MR imaged before and immediately after a dynamic hopping activity. Images were segmented and then used to create 3D surface models of bone and cartilage. These pre- and post-activity models were then registered using an iterative closest point technique to enable site-specific measurements of cartilage strain (defined as the normalized change in cartilage thickness before and after activity) on the femur and tibia. Results Significant strains were observed in both the medial and lateral tibial cartilage, with each compartment averaging a decrease of 5%. However, these strains varied with location within each compartment, reaching a maximum compressive strain of 8% on the medial plateau and 7% on the lateral plateau. No significant averaged compartmental strains were observed in the medial or lateral femoral cartilage. However, local regions of the medial and lateral femoral cartilage experienced significant compressive strains, reaching maximums of 6% and 3% respectively. Conclusion Local regions of both the femur and tibia experienced significant cartilage strains as a result of dynamic activity. An understanding of changes in cartilage strain distributions may help to elucidate the biomechanical factors contributing to cartilage degeneration after joint injury.
Objectives-To test the hypotheses that, compared with controls 1) femoroplasty (the injection of bone cement into the proximal femur in an attempt to prevent fragility fracture) increases the yield and ultimate loads, yield and ultimate energies, and stiffness of the proximal osteoporotic femur in a simulated fall model; and 2) the manner in which the cement distributes in the proximal femur affects the extent to which those mechanical properties are altered.Methods-In 10 pairs of osteoporotic human cadaveric femora, we injected 1 femur of each pair with 40 --50 mL of polymethylmethacrylate bone cement; the noninjected femur served as the control. The filling percentage was calculated in 4 anatomical regions of the femur: head, neck, trochanter, and subtrochanter. All specimens were biomechanically tested in a configuration that simulated a fall on the greater trochanter. Student's t test, linear regression, and multinomial logistic regression statistical analyses were conducted where appropriate, with significant difference defined as P < 0.05.Results-Femoroplasty significantly increased yield load (22.0%), ultimate load (37.3%), yield energy (79.6%), and ultimate energy (154%) relative to matched controls, but did not significantly change stiffness (-10.9%). There was a strong (r 2 = 0.7) correlation between yield load and filling percentage in the femoral neck.Conclusions-This study showed that 1) femoroplasty significantly increased fracture load and energy to fracture when osteoporotic femora were loaded in simulated fall conditions and 2) cement filling in the femoral neck may have an important role in the extent to which femoroplasty affects mechanical strength of the proximal femur.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.