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Related Experiment Videos

Do microcracks decrease or increase fatigue resistance in cortical bone?

O S Sobelman1, J C Gibeling, S M Stover

  • 1Orthopaedic Research Laboratories, School of Medicine, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.

Journal of Biomechanics
|July 28, 2004
PubMed
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Bone microcracks increase with age, potentially raising fracture risk. However, higher initial crack density may enhance fatigue resistance in elderly cortical bone, suggesting a complex relationship between aging, microdamage, and bone strength.

Area of Science:

  • Orthopedics
  • Biomaterials Science
  • Gerontology

Background:

  • Cortical bone fatigue generates microcracks, similar to engineered composites.
  • Microcrack accumulation with age suggests increased fracture risk in the elderly.
  • The role of microcracks in bone fatigue resistance remains debated.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between initial microcrack density and fatigue life in elderly cortical bone.
  • To determine how age, gender, and cortical region influence fatigue-induced microdamage.
  • To test the hypothesis that microcracks contribute to fatigue resistance.

Main Methods:

  • Fatigue testing of 20 human femoral cortical bone beams from elderly individuals using four-point bending.
  • Controlled loading to fracture or 10^6 cycles at 3000 or 5000 microstrain.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Measurement of microcrack density and length in loaded and control regions, analyzing effects of initial damage, age, gender, and cortical region.

    • Main Results:

    • Longer fatigue life correlated with higher initial microcrack density, especially in the medial cortex, after controlling for modulus variability.
    • Fatigue loading increased crack density more in older individuals and those with initially longer microcracks.
    • Crack density increased similarly in fractured and unfractured specimens; microcracks were shorter in bones with higher remodeling rates (resorption spaces).

    Conclusions:

    • Initial microcrack density may confer fatigue resistance in elderly cortical bone, challenging the notion that microcracks solely increase fracture risk.
    • Age and initial microcrack characteristics significantly influence fatigue-induced microdamage accumulation.
    • Bone remodeling rate, indicated by resorption spaces, is inversely related to microcrack length.