{"title":"A review of bone fracture healing modelling: from mechanobiological theory to personalized rehabilitation protocols","authors":"Lunjian Li , Minoo Patel , Lihai Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.bone.2025.117688","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Despite standard rehabilitation protocols, many patients still suffer from limited mobility, delayed union, or even non-union. This underscores the need for personalized rehabilitation protocols. Fracture healing is a dynamic process governed by the interplay of mechanical stimuli and biochemical signalling pathways. This review first summarizes current understanding of the biological and mechanobiological mechanisms that regulate bone repair. It also discusses different simulation models, including the finite element method (FEM), agent-based models (ABM), reaction–diffusion models (RDM), and machine learning (ML), and evaluates their respective strengths. Recent advances in patient-specific models are also reviewed, particularly those integrating CT-derived geometry, bone properties, and musculoskeletal (MSK) loading. These approaches enable individualized predictions of healing and can inform clinical rehabilitation strategies. Finally, the key challenges and future priorities for implementing these technologies in clinical practice are discussed, providing insights to support the development of more precise and patient-specific fracture care.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":9301,"journal":{"name":"Bone","volume":"202 ","pages":"Article 117688"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9000,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Bone","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S875632822500300X","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/10/21 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ENDOCRINOLOGY & METABOLISM","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Despite standard rehabilitation protocols, many patients still suffer from limited mobility, delayed union, or even non-union. This underscores the need for personalized rehabilitation protocols. Fracture healing is a dynamic process governed by the interplay of mechanical stimuli and biochemical signalling pathways. This review first summarizes current understanding of the biological and mechanobiological mechanisms that regulate bone repair. It also discusses different simulation models, including the finite element method (FEM), agent-based models (ABM), reaction–diffusion models (RDM), and machine learning (ML), and evaluates their respective strengths. Recent advances in patient-specific models are also reviewed, particularly those integrating CT-derived geometry, bone properties, and musculoskeletal (MSK) loading. These approaches enable individualized predictions of healing and can inform clinical rehabilitation strategies. Finally, the key challenges and future priorities for implementing these technologies in clinical practice are discussed, providing insights to support the development of more precise and patient-specific fracture care.
期刊介绍:
BONE is an interdisciplinary forum for the rapid publication of original articles and reviews on basic, translational, and clinical aspects of bone and mineral metabolism. The Journal also encourages submissions related to interactions of bone with other organ systems, including cartilage, endocrine, muscle, fat, neural, vascular, gastrointestinal, hematopoietic, and immune systems. Particular attention is placed on the application of experimental studies to clinical practice.