Are regional variations in bone growth related to mechanical stress and strain parameters?
A three-dimensional finite element analysis was used to quantify the patterns of mechanical stresses within the rabbit distal femur growth plate, and test the hypothesis that these patterns are correlated to measured patterns of bone growth rates. This investigation of normal development is the first step toward improving our understanding of the role of mechanical factors in bone growth abnormalities. Rabbits from five age groups ranging from 1 to 42 days were evaluated, and four different loading conditions were analyzed, representing specific time points in the normal gait cycle. Finite element models generated directly from micro-computed tomography images of the distal femurs identified regional variations in stress and strain parameters, similar to the variations in bone growth rates measured using fluorochrome labeling. A linear regression analysis supports the hypothesis that high compressive stresses are correlated with lower bone growth rates. However, for the loading conditi
