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Hindlimb suspension diminishes femoral cross‐sectional growth in the rat
Author(s) -
van der Meulen Marjolein C. H.,
MoreyHolton Emily R.,
Carter Dennis R.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
journal of orthopaedic research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.041
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1554-527X
pISSN - 0736-0266
DOI - 10.1002/jor.1100130509
Subject(s) - hindlimb , femur , anatomy , rigidity (electromagnetism) , medicine , materials science , surgery , composite material
Abstract Growth, functional adaptation, and torsional strength were examined in the femora of 39‐day‐old male Sprague‐Dawley rats subjected to hindlimb suspension for 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 weeks and were compared with measurements for age‐matched control animals. Our goal was to understand the effect of reduced loading on the normal age‐related changes in femoral properties during growth. The control animals exhibited growth‐related increases in all geometric and torsional properties of the femur. The mean body mass and femoral length of the hindlimb‐suspended rats were similar to those of the controls throughout the experiment. Over 4 weeks, the femoral cross‐sectional and torsional measurements from the hindlimb‐suspended rats demonstrated increases in comparison with the basal values (+33% cross‐sectional area, +64% polar moment of inertia, +67% ultimate torque, and +181% torsional rigidity), but the age‐matched controls showed significantly greater growth‐related increases (+71% cross‐sectional area, +136% polar moment of inertia, +127% ultimate torque, and +367% torsional rigidity). The differences in femoral structural strength between the hindlimb‐suspended animals and the age‐matched controls were attributable to differences in altered cross‐sectional geometry.