Mechanical force enhanced bony formation in defect implanted with calcium sulphate cement.

When damaged bone that has been repaired with cement is put under mechanical stress, healing is enhanced, report Chinese researchers. Previous evidence showed that mechanical force has a positive effect on bone formation. Zong-Ping Luo and colleagues from Soochow University in Suzhou therefore investigated whether external mechanical force could be used to accelerate bone healing in damaged rat femur bones implanted with bone-repairing material. Results showed that rats that ran on a treadmill for 45 minutes a day had a significant reduction in the defective area of bone at 30 days compared with a control group of rats that did not exercise. External mechanical force could be used to promote the bone-forming properties of bone-repairing materials and could be used as an effective non-invasive way of accelerating bone healing, concluded the authors.