BoneKEy Reports | BoneKEy Watch

Fracture healing in mice neither enhanced nor reduced by exercise



DOI:10.1038/bonekey.2012.85

This study, carried out in small groups of mice (36 and 37 in two groups), assessed the impact of exercise on fracture repair. The mice all had an induced femur fracture that was fixed using an intramedullary compression screw. One group was given access to a running wheel, and each mouse ran for a mean of 23.5 km in the first two weeks, and a total of 104.3 km after 5 weeks, showing that each animal ran 1.7 km each day up to the end of week 2, and 3 km per day overall. The second group was kept under identical conditions but with no wheel.

The researchers performed histomorphometric analysis on the callus to determine its size and composition during the study period, showing that both groups showed very similar patterns of healing. Healed bones from mice in both groups showed similar load at failure, peak rotational angle and torsional stiffness.

Editor's comment: This study shows that exercise has no apparent beneficial impact on fracture repair if a stable fixation is used, but neither does it cause any detriment. There is no reason to suggest, therefore, that patients in the clinic should be prevented from mobilising and exercising after stable fixation of a fracture.


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