Wolff's law

Wolff's law, developed by the German anatomist and surgeon Julius Wolff (1836–1902) in the 19th
century, states that bone in a healthy animal will adapt to the loads under which it is placed.[1] If loading on
a particular bone increases, the bone will remodel itself over time to become stronger to resist that sort of
loading.[2][3] The internal architecture of the trabeculae undergoes adaptive changes, followed by secondary
changes to the external cortical portion of the bone,[4] perhaps becoming thicker as a result. The inverse is
true as well: if the loading on a bone decreases, the bone will become less dense and weaker due to the lack
of the stimulus required for continued remodeling.[5] This reduction in bone density (osteopenia) is known
as stress shielding and can occur as a result of a hip replacement (or other prosthesis). The normal stress on
a bone is shielded from that bone by being placed on a prosthetic implant.

Mechanotransduction
The remodeling of bone in response to loading is achieved via mechanotransduction, a process through
which forces or other mechanical signals are converted to biochemical signals in cellular signaling.[6]
Mechanotransduction leading to bone remodeling involves the steps of mechanocoupling, biochemical
coupling, signal transmission, and cell response.[7] The specific effects on bone structure depend on the
duration, magnitude, and rate of loading, and it has been found that only cyclic loading can induce bone
formation.[7] When loaded, fluid flows away from areas of high compressive loading in the bone matrix.[8]
Osteocytes are the most abundant cells in bone and are also the most sensitive to such fluid flow caused by
mechanical loading.[6] Upon sensing a load, osteocytes regulate bone remodeling by signaling to other cells
with signaling molecules or direct contact.[9] Additionally, osteoprogenitor cells, which may differentiate
into osteoblasts or osteoclasts, are also mechanosensors and will differentiate depending on the loading
condition.[9]

Computational models suggest that mechanical feedback loops can stably regulate bone remodeling by
reorienting trabeculae in the direction of the mechanical loads.[10]

Associated laws
In relation to soft tissue, Davis' law explains how soft tissue remodels itself according to
imposed demands.
Refinement of Wolff's Law: Utah-Paradigm of Bone physiology (Mechanostat Theorem) by
Harold Frost.[11]

Examples
The racquet-holding arm bones of tennis players become stronger than those of the other
arm. Their bodies have strengthened the bones in their racquet-holding arm, since it is
routinely placed under higher than normal stresses. The most critical loads on a tennis
player's arms occur during the serve. There are four main phases of a tennis serve, and the
highest loads occur during external shoulder rotation and ball impact. The combination of
high load and arm rotation results in a twisted bone density profile.[12]
Weightlifters often display increases in bone density in response to their training.[13]
 Astronauts often suffer from the reverse: being in a
microgravity environment, they tend to lose bone density.
[14]

The deforming effects of torticollis on craniofacial

development in children.[15]

See also
Functional matrix hypothesis
Tennis players often use one arm
Iron Shirt, Wushu/Kungfu bone conditioning
more than the other
Osteogenic loading

References
1. Anahad O'Connor (October 18, 2010). "The Claim: After Being Broken, Bones Can Become
Even Stronger . Julius Wolff wrote his treatises on bone after images of bone sections were
described by Culmann and von Meyer" (https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/19/health/19reall
y.html?ref=science). New York Times. Retrieved 2010-10-19. "This concept — that bone
adapts to pressure, or a lack of it — is known as Wolff's law. ... there is no evidence that a
bone that breaks will heal to be stronger than it was before."
2. Frost, HM (1994). "Wolff's Law and bone's structural adaptations to mechanical usage: an
overview for clinicians". The Angle Orthodontist. 64 (3): 175–188. PMID 8060014 (https://pub
med.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8060014).
3. Ruff, Christopher; Holt, Brigitte; Trinkaus, Erik (April 2006). "Who's afraid of the big bad
Wolff?: "Wolff's law" and bone functional adaptation". American Journal of Physical
Anthropology. 129 (4): 484–498. doi:10.1002/ajpa.20371 (https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fajpa.20
371). PMID 16425178 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16425178).
4. Stedman's Medical Dictionary (Wayback Machine PDF)
5. Wolff J. "The Law of Bone Remodeling". Berlin Heidelberg New York: Springer, 1986
(translation of the German 1892 edition)
6. Huang, Chenyu; Rei Ogawa (October 2010). "Mechanotransduction in bone repair and
regeneration". FASEB J. 24 (10): 3625–3632. doi:10.1096/fj.10-157370 (https://doi.org/10.10
96%2Ffj.10-157370). PMID 20505115 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20505115).
S2CID 3202736 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:3202736).
7. Duncan, RL; CH Turner (November 1995). "Mechanotransduction and the functional
response of bone to mechanical strain". Calcified Tissue International. 57 (5): 344–358.
doi:10.1007/bf00302070 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fbf00302070). PMID 8564797 (https://pu
bmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8564797). S2CID 8548195 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusI
D:8548195).
8. Turner, CH; MR Forwood; MW Otter (1994). "Mechanotransduction in bone: do bone cells act
as sensors of fluid flow?". FASEB J. 8 (11): 875–878. doi:10.1096/fasebj.8.11.8070637 (http
s://doi.org/10.1096%2Ffasebj.8.11.8070637). PMID 8070637 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.g
ov/8070637). S2CID 13858592 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:13858592).
9. Chen, Jan-Hung; Chao Liu; Lidan You; Craig A Simmons (2010). "Boning up on Wolff's Law:
Mechanical regulation of the cells that make and maintain bone". Journal of Biomechanics.
43 (1): 108–118. doi:10.1016/j.jbiomech.2009.09.016 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.jbiomech.
2009.09.016). PMID 19818443 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19818443).
10. Huiskes, Rik; Ruimerman, Ronald; van Lenthe, G. Harry; Janssen, Jan D. (8 June 2000).
"Effects of mechanical forces on maintenance and adaptation of form in trabecular bone".
Nature. 405 (6787): 704–706. Bibcode:2000Natur.405..704H (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/a
bs/2000Natur.405..704H). doi:10.1038/35015116 (https://doi.org/10.1038%2F35015116).
PMID 10864330 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10864330). S2CID 4391634 (https://api.se
manticscholar.org/CorpusID:4391634).
11. Frost, HM (2003). "Bone's mechanostat: a 2003 update" (https://doi.org/10.1002%2Far.a.101
19). The Anatomical Record Part A: Discoveries in Molecular, Cellular, and Evolutionary
Biology. 275 (2): 1081–1101. doi:10.1002/ar.a.10119 (https://doi.org/10.1002%2Far.a.1011
9). PMID 14613308 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14613308).
12. Taylor RE; Zheng c; Jackson RP; Doll JC; Chen JC; Holzbar KR; Besier T; Kuhl E (2009).
"The phenomenon of twisted growth: humeral torsion in dominant arms of high performance
tennis players". Comput Methods Biomech Biomed Engin. 12 (1): 83–93.
doi:10.1080/10255840802178046 (https://doi.org/10.1080%2F10255840802178046).
PMID 18654877 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18654877). S2CID 113868949 (https://api.
semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:113868949).
13. Mayo Clinic Staff (2010). "Strength training: Get stronger, leaner, healthier" (https://web.archi
ve.org/web/20120922035101/http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/strength-training/HQ01710).
Mayo Foundation for Education and Medical Research. Archived from the original (http://ww
w.mayoclinic.com/health/strength-training/HQ01710) on September 22, 2012. Retrieved
19 October 2012.
14. "Preventing Bone Loss in Space Flight with Prophylactic Use of Bisphosphonate: Health
Promotion of the Elderly by Space Medicine Technologies" (https://www.nasa.gov/mission_p
ages/station/research/benefits/bone_loss.html). 27 May 2015.
15. Oppenheimer, AJ; Tong, L; Buchman, SR (Nov 2008). "Craniofacial Bone Grafting: Wolff's
Law Revisited" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3052728).
Craniomaxillofacial Trauma & Reconstruction. 1 (1): 49–61. doi:10.1055/s-0028-1098963 (htt
ps://doi.org/10.1055%2Fs-0028-1098963). PMC 3052728 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pm
c/articles/PMC3052728). PMID 22110789 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22110789).

Das Gesetz der Transformation der Knochen - 1892. Reprint: Pro Business, Berlin 2010,
ISBN 978-3-86805-648-8.
Wolff, J. (Apr 2010). "The Classic: On the Inner Architecture of Bones and its Importance for
Bone Growth" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2835576). Clin Orthop Relat
Res. 468 (4): 1056–1065. doi:10.1007/s11999-010-1239-2 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs119
99-010-1239-2). PMC 2835576 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2835576).
PMID 20162387 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20162387).

External links
Julius Wolff Institut (http://jwi.charite.de/en/), Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, main
research areas are the regeneration and biomechanics of the musculoskeletal system and
the improvement of joint replacement.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wolff%27s_law&oldid=1192001559"