A study on the changes in the microstructure of trabecular bone and the biomechanical properties in patients with osteoporotic fractures and the correlation between them
- 1Department of Orthopedic, Yueyang Hospital Affiliated to Hunan Normal University , , ,
- 2Department of Orthopedic, Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University , , ,
Abstract
Objective: To explore bone-quality characteristics in patients with osteoporotic femoral neck fractures by investigating trabecular-bone microstructural and biomechanical alterations of femoral-head specimens and their correlations.
Methods: Femoral-head specimens from 20 patients with osteoporotic femoral neck fractures (experimental group: 69-90 years, 80.65 ± 8.85 years) and 13 patients with early-stage hip degenerative changes (control group: 49-83 years, 64.08 ± 6.93 years) were included. Noticeable baseline age imbalance existed between groups. All specimens underwent Micro-CT scanning. Cylindrical 8-mm-diameter trabecular-bone samples were harvested along principal compressive trabeculae. Compression, bending and torsion tests were conducted to acquire microstructural and biomechanical parameters.
Results: Compared with controls, the experimental group exhibited significantly lower bone volume fraction (BV/TV), trabecular number (Tb.N), trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), alongside higher trabecular separation (Tb.Sp) and structural model index (SMI) (all P< 0.05). Biomechanical indicators including maximum compressive stress (MCL), maximum bending force (Fmax) and maximum torque (RST) were markedly reduced in the experimental group (P < 0.05). Trabecular microstructural indices were significantly correlated with biomechanical performance. Of note, baseline age imbalance and potential confounding from hip degenerative pathology should be considered when interpreting inter-group differences.
Conclusion: This ex-vivo specimen-based study demonstrates severe trabecular deterioration and impaired biomechanical properties in osteoporotic-fracture specimens, with significant correlations between microstructural damage and reduced mechanical performance. These observations only reflect bone-quality features of isolated specimens; direct extrapolation to predict individual in-vivo fracture risk should be avoided.
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BibTeX
@article{liu2026study,
title = {{A study on the changes in the microstructure of trabecular bone and the biomechanical properties in patients with osteoporotic fractures and the correlation between them}},
author = {Hao Liu and Xu Zhang and Wenjie Xu and Pei Yang and Zhizheng Xiong},
journal = {Frontiers in medicine},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fmed.2026.1932467},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13719394},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - A study on the changes in the microstructure of trabecular bone and the biomechanical properties in patients with osteoporotic fractures and the correlation between them
AU - Hao Liu
AU - Xu Zhang
AU - Wenjie Xu
AU - Pei Yang
AU - Zhizheng Xiong
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/16
JO - Frontiers in medicine
DO - 10.3389/fmed.2026.1932467
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13719394
AB - Objective: To explore bone-quality characteristics in patients with osteoporotic femoral neck fractures by investigating trabecular-bone microstructural and biomechanical alterations of femoral-head specimens and their correlations. Methods: Femoral-head specimens from 20 patients with osteoporotic femoral neck fractures (experimental group: 69-90 years, 80.65 ± 8.85 years) and 13 patients with early-stage hip degenerative changes (control group: 49-83 years, 64.08 ± 6.93 years) were included. Noticeable baseline age imbalance existed between groups. All specimens underwent Micro-CT scanning. Cylindrical 8-mm-diameter trabecular-bone samples were harvested along principal compressive trabeculae. Compression, bending and torsion tests were conducted to acquire microstructural and biomechanical parameters. Results: Compared with controls, the experimental group exhibited significantly lower bone volume fraction (BV/TV), trabecular number (Tb.N), trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), alongside higher trabecular separation (Tb.Sp) and structural model index (SMI) (all P< 0.05). Biomechanical indicators including maximum compressive stress (MCL), maximum bending force (Fmax) and maximum torque (RST) were markedly reduced in the experimental group (P < 0.05). Trabecular microstructural indices were significantly correlated with biomechanical performance. Of note, baseline age imbalance and potential confounding from hip degenerative pathology should be considered when interpreting inter-group differences. Conclusion: This ex-vivo specimen-based study demonstrates severe trabecular deterioration and impaired biomechanical properties in osteoporotic-fracture specimens, with significant correlations between microstructural damage and reduced mechanical performance. These observations only reflect bone-quality features of isolated specimens; direct extrapolation to predict individual in-vivo fracture risk should be avoided.
SN - 2296-858X
ER -