Mechanical Property of Trabecular Bone of the Femoral Heads from Osteoarthritis and Osteoporosis Patients

Abstract

Osteoarthritis (OA) and osteoporosis (OP) are the two most common musculoskeletal diseases in the elder population. This study was designed to (a) compare the mechanical properties of trabecular bone of femoral head in OA and OP patients, (b) investigate the effect of the geometry and material properties changes on trabecular tissue by finite element analysis, and (c) study the influence of mechanical property changes of the subchondral plate, the femoral head, and the femoral neck on stress distribution at the articular cartilage from the patients with OA and OP using finite element analysis (FEA). Our analysis showed that parameter of the trabecular number (density and volume) were sensitive for bone strength. The material properties were sensitive for bone strength compared with index parameters. Stronger material properties resulted in a low proportion of elements exceeding yield strain, suggesting stronger trabecular bone tissue. The results revealed that in OA patients, bone density was much higher than in OP patients, and supported the observation that OA might be more likely to occur in those people with stiffer bone in the proximal femur.