The physiological basis of training the skeleton. The Sir Frederick Smith Memorial Lecture.

The study explores the adaptive response of bones to physical load during a horse’s growth and training to understand how bones cells control skeletal modelling and remodelling. However, the researchers argue that the mechanisms contributing to this remain unknown and that there is a lack of systematic study on variations in training regimen effects on bone architecture in any species.

Objective and Context of the Research

• The primary goal of the study is to understand how functional load-bearing and subsequent training regimen in horses contributes to their bone’s architecture and its ability to withstand repetitive loading.
• This research builds on the understanding that while the general form of the bone in the limbs is achieved during growth, the remaining features are a result of an adaptive response to the functional load that it bears. The same application is valid for horses in their training regimen.

Adaptive Response and Functional Load-Bearing

• A critical concept in this study relates to the adaptive response of bone cells to the load-bearing function. This response determines bone modeling and remodeling, the processes behind bone’s architecture.
• The researchers argue that training regimen aims to facilitate an optimal match between the bone’s architecture and the loads it needs to bear during training and performance. Bones need to assess the strains produced during load-bearing functions to establish and maintain this balance.

Skeletal Modelling and Remodelling Mechanisms

• The paper proposed that the mechanisms by which bone cells control skeletal modelling and remodelling are largely unknown. While few factors and events involved in these processes are known, the actual controlling mechanics remain unidentified.
• The research further outlines that these strains serve as the objectives behind functionally adaptive modelling and remodelling. Strains also stimulate control over this adaptive response.

Research Gaps

• Lastly, the study highlights that there has been no systematic research examining the effect of variations in training regimens on bone architecture in any species. Therefore, the extent to which these variations impact bone architecture remains unexplored.