Bone architecture adaptations after spinal cord injury: impact of long-term vibration of a constrained lower limb

This study examined the effect of vibration on bone density in people with spinal cord injury. Spinal cord injury can lead to osteoporosis. The study used CT imaging to assess the impact of vibration. Participants with SCI received vibration on one leg while sitting in a wheelchair, with the other leg serving as a control. The study measured bone mineral density (BMD) and trabecular micro-architecture using CT scans. The study found that vibration training, using the specific parameters tested (0.6g, 30 Hz, 20 min, three times weekly), was not effective in improving bone density or architecture in people with chronic spinal cord injury.

• 1
  Twelve months of vibration training did not yield adaptations of BMD or trabecular micro-architecture for the distal tibia or the distal femur.
• 2
  BMD and trabecular network length continued to decline at several distal femur sub-regions, contrary to previous reports suggesting a “steady state” of bone in chronic SCI.
• 3
  In the participant followed from acute to chronic SCI, BMD and architecture decline varied systematically across different anatomical segments of the tibia and femur.