The Effect of Bone Loss Pattern on the Structural Capacity of the Proximal Femur

The effect of age-related bone loss on the structural capacity of the proximal femur were investigated by Finite Element Analysis (FEA). Four bone loss patterns were considered. These were "uniform cortical bone loss", "neck cortical bone loss", "intertrochanteric cortical bone loss" and "uniform trabecular bone loss". The results show that the two "non-uniform cortical bone loss" patterns are more dangerous than the "uniform cortical bone loss" pattern, and that the cortical bone loss in intertrochanteric region is associated with a greater reduction in cortical failure load than the cortical bone loss in the femoral neck. The trabecular bone loss causes a limited decrease in both cortical failure and trabecular failure loads. This research should be helpful to the clinical assessment of femur fracture risk due to age-related bone loss.