Assessing the Susceptibility to Local Buckling at the Femoral Neck Cortex to Age-Related Bone Loss

To simulate bone adaptation, we used an engineering beam simulation of a one-legged stance and linearly thickened (young) or thinned (old) cortices until the maximum stress on the infero-medial neck surface was the same as in the middle-age version. Consequences of simulated adaptive changes on elastic buckling stability were evaluated by the FSM using loads generated in a simulated fall on the greater trochanter. We conclude that the expansion of diameter with thinning cortices can preserve femoral neck strength under normal stance mode but not necessarily under loads encountered in falls, especially if the elderly cross-section is thinned by adaptation to reduced loading.