# Influence of Spinal Loading on Vertebral Fracture

> **NIH NIH R01** · BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER · 2021 · $530,112

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Vertebral fractures (VF) afflict up to 30-50% of adults >50 years and lead to profound morbidity, increased
mortality, and costs exceeding $1 billion in the US annually. With growth in the elderly population, the number
of VF and associated personal, societal and financial burdens are predicted to double by 2050. Bone mineral
density (BMD) testing by DXA, the current clinical standard for assessment of fracture risk, lacks sensitivity, as
only a quarter of those with a VF have osteoporosis by BMD testing. Improved identification of patients at high
risk for fracture will allow targeting of therapies to those who most need them. Biomechanical principles dictate
that a fracture occurs when the loads applied to a bone exceed its strength. Yet, little attention is paid to
estimating spinal loading. While musculoskeletal models of the human body can be used estimate forces on
muscles, bones, and joints that not measurable in vivo, to date these models have focused on the extremities,
cervical spine and lumbar spine, but have largely ignored the thorax. This is a major limitation as vertebral
fractures occur most commonly in the thoracolumbar and mid-thoracic regions of the spine. Recently we have
developed novel musculoskeletal models that are sex-specific and incorporate the thoracic spine and rib cage.
Further, we have developed innovative methods to efficiently create subject-specific models from 3D medical
imaging. Our long-term goal is to develop biomechanically-based approaches that will help clinicians to identify
individuals at high risk for fracture. Our objectives of the current proposal are to validate our spine
musculoskeletal model specifically in older men and women performing dynamic activities of daily living, and to
test, in population-based cohorts, whether subject-specific estimates of spinal loading improve prediction of
vertebral fractures. In addition, we will determine the factors that influence spinal loading, in order to take the
first steps towards translating these biomechanical tools into ones that will be practical and useful in clinical
practice. Successful completion of the proposed project will address a key gap in knowledge by providing an
open source, anatomically detailed, fully articulated, and validated musculoskeletal model of the thoracolumbar
spine and rib cage for older women and men. This model and the new insights into patient-specific modeling
we will generate will be broadly useful for translation of musculoskeletal models to the clinic, thereby improving
our understanding of the biomechanical mechanisms underlying, and potential treatments for, multiple spinal
diseases and conditions that affect a large segment of the population. Notably, we will make our advances in
spine modeling broadly available by implementing them in OpenSim, a widely used open source
musculoskeletal modeling platform.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10229451
- **Project number:** 5R01AR073019-04
- **Recipient organization:** BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** MARY L BOUXSEIN
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $530,112
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-14 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10229451

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10229451, Influence of Spinal Loading on Vertebral Fracture (5R01AR073019-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10229451. Licensed CC0.

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