Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Effect of Fatiguing Exercise on Longitudinal Bone Strain as Related to Stress Fracture in Humans

  • Published:
Annals of Biomedical Engineering Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Muscular fatigue in the training athlete or military recruit has been hypothesized to cause increased bone strain that may contribute to the development of a stress fracture. Under normal circumstances, muscles exert a protective effect by contracting to reduce bending strains on cortical bone surfaces. In vivo strain studies in dogs show that muscle fatigue following strenuous exercise elevates bone strain and changes strain distribution. However, a similar experiment has yet to be performed in humans. The purpose of this work was to test the hypothesis in humans that strenuous fatiguing exercise causes an elevation in bone strain. It was also hypothesized that this elevation is greater in younger people than in older people due to the decline in muscle strength and endurance that normally occurs with age. To test these hypotheses, strain in the tibiae of seven human volunteers was measured during walking before and after a period of fatiguing exercise. Neither hypothesis was sustained. Post-hoc analysis of the strain data suggests that strain rate increases after fatigue with a greater increase in younger as opposed to older persons. Although not conclusive, this suggests that it is strain rate, rather than strain magnitude, that may be causal for stress fracture. © 1998 Biomedical Engineering Society.

PAC98: 8745Dr, 8745Bp, 0180+b

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  1. Burr, D. B., C. Milgrom, D. Fyhrie, M. Forwood, M. Nyska, A. Finestone, S. Hoshaw, E. Saiag, and A. Simkin. In vivomeasurement of human tibial strains during vigorous activity. Bone (N.Y.)18:405-410, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Carter, D. R., W. E. Caler, D. M. Spengler, and V. H. Frankel. Fatigue behavior of adult cortical bone: The influence of mean strain and strain range. Acta Orthop. Scand.52:481-490, 1981.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Carter, D. R., W. E. Caler, D. M. Spengler, and V. H. Frankel. Uniaxial fatigue of human cortical bone. The influence of tissue physical characteristics. J. Biomech.14:461- 470, 1981.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Carter, D. R., and W. E. Caler. Cycle-dependent and timedependent bone fracture with repeated loading. J. Biomech. Eng.105:166-170, 1983.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Carter, D. R., and W. E. Caler. A cumulative damage model for bone fracture. J. Orthop. Res.3:84-90, 1985.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Clarke, T. E., B. L. Cooper, C. L. Hamill, and D. E. Clark. The effect of varied stride rate upon shank deceleration in running. J. Sports Sci.3:41-49, 1985.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Friedl, K. E., and J. A. Nuovo. Factors associated with stress fracture in young army women: Indications for further research. Mil. Med.157:334-338, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Gollhofer, A., P. V. Moki, M. Miyashita, and O. Aura. Fatigue during stretch-shortening cycle exercise: Changes in mechanical performance of human skeletal muscle. Int. J. Sports Med.8:71-78, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Hausdorff, J. M., Z. Ladin, and J. Wei. Footswitch system for measurement of the temporal parameters of gait. J. Biomech.28:347-351, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Hill, D. B. Production and absorption of work by muscle. Science131:897-903, 1962.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Inman, V. T., H. J. Ralstrom, and F. Todd. Human Walking. New York: Williams and Wilkins, 1981.

    Google Scholar 

  12. James, S. L., B. T. Bates, and L. R. Osternig. Injuries to runners. Am. J. Sports Med.6:40-50, 1978.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Jones, B. H., J. McA. Harris, T. N. Vinh, and C. Rubin. Exercise-induced stress fractures and stress reactions of bone: Epidemiology, etiology, and classification. Exercise Sport Sci. Rev.17:379-422, 1989.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Keller, T. S., J. D. Lovin, D. M. Spengler, and D. R. Carter. Fatigue of immature baboon cortical bone. J. Biomech.18:297-304, 1985.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Lanyon, L. E., W. G. Hampson, A. E. Goodship, and J. S. Shah. Bone deformation recorded in vivo from strain gauges attached to the human tibial shaft. Acta Orthop. Scand.46:256-268, 1975.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Larsson, L., G. Grimby, and J. Karlsson. Muscle strength and speed of movement in relation to age and muscle morphology. J. Appl. Physiol.46:451-456, 1979.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Light, L. H., G. E. MacClellan, and L. Klenerman. Skeletal transients on heelstrike in normal walking with different footwear. J. Biomech.13:477-480, 1980.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Mann, R. A. Biomechanics of running. In: Symposium on Foot and Leg in Running Sports, edited by P. P. Mack. St. Louis: Mosby, 1982, pp. 1-29.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Margel-Robertson, D. and D. C. Smith. Compressive strength of mandibular bone as a function of microstructure and strain rate. J. Biomech.11:455-471, 1978.

    Google Scholar 

  20. McMahon, T. Muscles, Reflexes and Locomotion. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984.

    Google Scholar 

  21. McMahon, T. A., and P. R. Greene. The influence of track compliance on running. J. Biomech.12:893-904, 1979.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Milgrom, C., A. Finestone, N. Shlamkovitch, N. Rand, B. Lev, A. Simkin, and M. Wiener. Youth is a risk factor for stress fracture. J. Bone Jt. Surg., Br. Vol.76:20-22, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Mizrahi, J., and Z. Susak. Analysis of parameters affecting impact force attenuation during landing in human vertical free fall. Eng. Med. (Berlin)11:141 -147, 1982.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Nyland, J. A., R. Shapiro, R. L. Stine, T. S. Horn, and M. L. Ireland. Relationship of fatigued run and rapid stop to ground reaction forces, lower extremity kinematics, and muscle activation. J. Orthop. Sports Phys. Ther.20:132-137, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Pattin, C. A., W. E. Caler, and D. R. Carter. Cyclic mechanical property degradation during fatigue loading of cortical bone. J. Biomech.29:69-79, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Paul, I. L., M. Munro, P. J. Abernethy, S. R. Simon, E. L. Radin, and R. M. Rose. Musculo-skeletal shock absorption: Relative contribution of bone and soft tissues at various frequencies. J. Biomech.11:237-239, 1978.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Pauwels, F. Biomechanics of the locomotor apparatus. In: Contributions on the Functional Anatomy of the Locomotor Apparatus. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1980.

    Google Scholar 

  28. Radin, E. L. Nature of mechanical factors causing degeneration of joints in the hip. In: Proceedings of the 2nd Open Scientific Meeting of the Hip Society, 1974. St. Louis: Mosby, 1974, pp. 786-871.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Radin, E. L. Role of muscles in protecting athletes from injury. Acta Med. Scand. Suppl.711:143-147, 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Radin, E. L., M. W. Whittle, K. H. Yang, et al.The heelstrike transient, its relationship with the angular velocity of the shank and the effects of quadriceps paralysis. In: 1986 Advances in Bioengineering, edited by S. A. Lantz and A. I. King. New York: The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Radin, E. L., K. Yang, C. Riegger, V. L. Kish, and J. J. O'Connor. Relationship of repetitive impulsive loading of the leg to knee pain. Paper presented at the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Orthopaedic Association, June 1988 (unpublished).

  32. Rubin, C. T., and L. E. Lanyon. Limb mechanics as a function of speed and gait: A study of functional strains in the radius and tibia of horse and dog. J. Exp. Biol.101:187-211, 1982.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Schaffler, M. B., E. L. Radin, and D. B. Burr. Mechanical and morphological effects of strain rate on fatigue of compact bone. Bone (N.Y.)10:207-214, 1989.

    Google Scholar 

  34. Schaffler, M. B., E. L. Radin, and D. B. Burr. Long-term fatigue behavior of a compact bone at low strain magnitude. Bone (N.Y.)11:321-326, 1990.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Schultz, A. B., J. A. Ashton-Miller, and N. B. Alexander. What leads to age and gender differences in balance maintenance and recovery? Muscle and Nerve(Suppl.) 5:S60-S64 (1997).

    Google Scholar 

  36. Schwender, K. I., A. E. Mikesky, W. S. Holt, M. Peacock, and D. B. Burr. Differences in muscle and endurance and recovery between fallers and non fallers and between younger and older women. Eur. J. Sports Med.(submitted).

  37. Simon, S. R., I. L. Paul, J. Mansour, J. Munro, P. J. Abernethy, and E. L. Radin. Peak dynamic force in human gait. J. Biomech.14:817-822, 1981.

    Google Scholar 

  38. Verbitsky, O., J. Mizrahi, A. Voloshin, J. Treiger, and E. Isakov. Shock absorption and fatigue in humans. J. Biomech.(submitted).

  39. Wright, T. M., and W. C. Hayes. The fracture mechanics of fatigue crack propagation in compact bone. J. Biomed. Mater. Res. Symp.7:637-648, 1976.

    Google Scholar 

  40. Yoshikawa, T., S. Mori, A. J. Santiesteban, T. C. Sun, E. Hafstad, J. Chen, and D. B. Burr. The effects of muscle fatigue on bone strain. J. Exp. Biol.188:217-233, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bone and Joint Center, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI

    D. P. Fyhrie & D. Drumb

  2. Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel

    C. Milgrom & S. Dar

  3. Dow Corning Corporation, Midland, MI

    S. J. Hoshaw

  4. Soyka Biomechanics Laboratory, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel

    A. Simkin

  5. Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN

    D. B. Burr

Authors
  1. D. P. Fyhrie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. C. Milgrom
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. S. J. Hoshaw
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. A. Simkin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. S. Dar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. D. Drumb
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. D. B. Burr
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Fyhrie, D.P., Milgrom, C., Hoshaw, S.J. et al. Effect of Fatiguing Exercise on Longitudinal Bone Strain as Related to Stress Fracture in Humans. Annals of Biomedical Engineering 26, 660–665 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1114/1.103

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1114/1.103

Search

Navigation