A two-dimensional finite element analysis of the influence of fracture gap and angle on bone healing process

Over the years, many mechanoregulation concepts of fracture healing have been developed. They all assume that higher values of the stimulus in the fracture gap cause the formation of a fibrous tissue and only lower values can lead to the formation of bone tissue. A literature review of the numerical evaluation of bone fracture healing has revealed some shortcomings in the existing studies. Scientists often focus on only one of the three phases of fracture healing. In addition, studies are often carried out with the use of only transverse fractures. The aim of the study is to develop an algorithm for the numerical evaluation of bone fracture healing, which can be used for both transverse as well as oblique fractures. To conduct the research, the authors proposed an algorithm that considers all phases occurring in secondary healing: 1 – hematoma formation, 2 – tissue differentiation, 3 – bone tissue remodeling. Appropriate CAD models of simplified fracture were designed that additionally considered two variables: fracture angle (from 0° to 45°) and fracture gap (from 2.5 mm to 10.0 mm). Axial loading was used in order to generate mechanobiological stimulus. The obtained results presented a significant influence of the analyzed variables on the studied process. This proved that the designed algorithm can be used to speed up the treatment process and enable designing a more effective rehabilitation procedure for an individual patient.