Computational Simulation of the Influence of Mechanical Stability on Growth Factors Activities during Bone Fracture Healing

Mechanoregulatory healing models, bioregulatory healing models, and mechanobioregulatory healing models have been developed to investigate the interaction among the mechanical environment, biological factors, and tissue differentiation during bone fracture healing. However, there are few papers studying the influence of mechanical stability on growth factor activities. In this paper, we set up a computational model to investigate the influence of mechanical stability on growth factor activities. Two kinds of fracture gaps (2 mm: stable group and 3 mm: unstable group) were used in this model. In each group, 7% and 33% interfragmentary strains (IFSs) were used to represent low and high IFSs, respectively. Through the simulation, the spatial and temporal distributions of growth factors within the callus region were predicted. The influence of mechanical stability on growth factor activities was obtained. The computational model contributed to the understanding of the bone fracture healing process, and it can help to optimize the treatment methods.