Groped for a novel stimulation method for the prevention of lumbar vertebral compression pressure bone fracture and...

Osteoporosis is leaving bones more fragile and susceptible to fracture. It has a massive impact, both physically and mentally, markedly diminishing quality of life. A new form of therapeutic exercise or physical therapy that mitigates the abrupt decrease in bone density in postmenopausal women must quickly be developed to avoid those problems. In this study, ovariectomy (OVX) mice were used as models to simulate the decrease in bone density observed in postmenopausal women. Physical therapy via a shaking stimulus, in the form of moving a platform that rotates in a roughly circular motion in the horizontal plane, was studied as a way to prevent the decrease in bone density of the lumbar vertebrae by analysis of bone histomorphometry, a feat that the stimulus from conventional therapeutic exercise and physical therapy have failed to achieve. Comparison of the stimulus/ovariectomized (+/+) group with the -/+ group indicated significant increases in ES (P < 0.01), N. Mu. Oc (P < 0.05), OV (P < 0.05), O. Th (P < 0.01), and L. Th (P < 0.01) in the +/+ group. If this finding is used clinically, we believe that it could lead to therapy that would prevent compression fractures of the lumbar vertebrae.