IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/nature/v412y2001i6847d10.1038_35088122.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Low mechanical signals strengthen long bones

Author

Listed:
  • Clinton Rubin

    (Musculo-Skeletal Research Laboratory, State University of New York)

  • A. Simon Turner

    (Colorado State University)

  • Steven Bain

    (Skeletech Inc.)

  • Craig Mallinckrodt

    (Colorado State University)

  • Kenneth McLeod

    (Musculo-Skeletal Research Laboratory, State University of New York)

Abstract

Although the skeleton's adaptability to load-bearing has been recognized for over a century1, the specific mechanical components responsible for strengthening it have not been identified. Here we show that after mechanically stimulating the hindlimbs of adult sheep on a daily basis for a year with 20-minute bursts of very-low-magnitude, high-frequency vibration, the density of the spongy (trabecular) bone in the proximal femur is significantly increased (by 34.2%) compared to controls. As the strain levels generated by this treatment are three orders of magnitude below those that damage bone tissue, this anabolic, non-invasive stimulus may have potential for treating skeletal conditions such as osteoporosis.

Suggested Citation

  • Clinton Rubin & A. Simon Turner & Steven Bain & Craig Mallinckrodt & Kenneth McLeod, 2001. "Low mechanical signals strengthen long bones," Nature, Nature, vol. 412(6847), pages 603-604, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:412:y:2001:i:6847:d:10.1038_35088122
    DOI: 10.1038/35088122
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/35088122
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/35088122?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Shiuan-Yu Tseng & Chung-Liang Lai & Chung-Po Ko & Yu-Kang Chang & Hueng-Chuen Fan & Chun-Hou Wang, 2023. "The Effectiveness of Whole-Body Vibration and Heat Therapy on the Muscle Strength, Flexibility, and Balance Abilities of Elderly Groups," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-11, January.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:412:y:2001:i:6847:d:10.1038_35088122. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.