Noninvasive fatigue fracture model of the rat ulna

Fatigue damage occurs in response to repeated cyclic loading and has been observed in situ in cortical bone of humans and other animals. When microcracks accumulate and coalesce, failure ensues and is referred to as fatigue fracture. Experimental study of fatigue fracture healing is inherently difficult due to the lack of noninvasive models. In this study, we hypothesized that repeated cyclic loading of the rat ulna results in a fatigue fracture. The aim of the study was to develop a noninvasive long bone fatigue fracture model that induces failure through accumulation and coalescence of microdamage and replicates the morphology of a clinical fracture. Using modified end-load bending, right ulnae of adult Sprague-Dawley rats were cyclically loaded in vivo to fatigue failure based on increased bone compliance, which reflects changes in bone stiffness due to microdamage. Preterminal tracer studies with 0.8% Procion Red solution were conducted according to protocols described previously to evaluate perfusion of the vasculature as well as the lacunocanalicular system at different time points during healing. Eighteen of the 20 animals loaded sustained a fatigue fracture of the medial ulna, i.e. through the compressive cortex. In all cases, the fracture was closed and non-displaced. No disruption to the periosteum or intramedullary vasculature was observed. The loading regime did not produce soft tissue trauma; in addition, no haematoma was observed in association with application of load. Healing proceeded via proliferative woven bone formation, followed by consolidation within 42 days postfracture. In sum, a noninvasive long bone fatigue fracture model was developed that lends itself for the study of internal remodeling of periosteal woven bone during fracture healing and has obvious applications for the study of fatigue fracture etiology.