J Musculoskelet Neuronal Interact, 2013; 13(3): 235-44, PMID: 23989248
Mid-femoral and mid-tibial muscle cross-sectional area as predictors of tibial bone strength in middle-aged and older men.
Year: 2013
Rantalainen T, Nikander R, Kukuljan S, Daly RM
Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research, School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia.
Abstract
While it is widely acknowledged that bones adapt to the site-specific prevalent loading environment, reasonable ways to estimate skeletal loads are not necessarily available. For long bone shafts, muscles acting to bend the bone may provide a more appropriate surrogate of the loading than muscles expected to cause compressive loads. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate whether mid-thigh muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) was a better predictor of tibial mid-shaft bone strength than mid-tibia muscle CSA in middle aged and older men. 181 Caucasian men aged 50-79 years (mean+/-SD; 61+/-7 years) participated in this study. Mid-femoral and mid-tibial bone traits cortical area, density weighted polar moment of area and muscle CSA [cm(2)] were assessed with computed tomography. Tibial bone traits were positively associated with both the mid-femur (r=0.44 to 0.46, P<0.001) and the mid-tibia muscle CSA (r=0.35 to 0.37, P<0.001). Multivariate regression analysis, adjusting for age, weight, physical activity and femoral length, indicated that mid-femur muscle CSA predicted tibial mid-shaft bone strength indices better than mid-tibia muscle CSA. In conclusion, the association between a given skeletal site and functionally adjacent muscles may provide a meaningful probe of the site-specific effect of loading on bone.GID: 3303; Last update: 10.09.2013
More information: Original Article
