The effect of the loading condition corresponding to functional shoulder activities on trabecular architecture of glenoid

There is little information on bone morphology as it relates to shoulder activities. This study investigated how loads corresponding to functional shoulder activities affect the trabecular architecture of the glenoid. Two different protocols were used. Protocol 1 investigated the material and morphological characteristics of the glenoid by analyzing digitized trabecular bone images obtained from 12 cadaver scapula specimens. Protocol 2 used a finite element analysis (FEA) to compute the principal stress trajectories acting within the glenoid. The principal stresses were derived for five loading conditions, which represent typical functional shoulder activities. The study showed that shoulder activity involved in carrying a light load makes the greatest contribution to the trabecular architecture compared with other shoulder activities considered in this study (p < 0.05). With all of the activities considered in this study, the lateral region, particularly in the anterior and posterior portions, showed greater deviation and greater sensitivity to variation under loading conditions than did the other regions (p < 0.05). These results suggest that owing to the extra sensitivity of the anterior and posterior parts of the lateral region, these regions may be more informative in the analysis of the trabecular architecture following shoulder musculoskeletal injuries. These results may provide essential design information for shoulder prostheses and contribute to an understanding of morphological changes resulting from injury.