Longitudinal changes in femur bone mineral density after spinal cord injury: effects of slice placement and peel method

Following spinal cord injury (SCI), disruption of normal neural, vascular, hormonal, and mechanical factors precipitates rapid bone loss in paralyzed extremities. The femur metaphysis is a transition zone between the condyles (which contain extensive trabecular bone and a thin cortical shell) and the diaphysis, a thick cortical shell with almost no trabecular bone present. Longitudinal post-SCI BMD data are scarce, but cross- sectional studies suggest that BMD decline at the femur epiphysis occurs more rapidly than at tibial sites [1].

• 1
  BMD demonstrated a rapid decline over 2 years post-injury.
• 2
  BMD differences attributable to operator-selected peel methods were large (17.3% for subjects with SCI).
• 3
  Femur metaphysis BMD declines after SCI in a manner similar to other anatomic sites.