The Role of Motor Activity in Bone Remodeling After Spinal Cord Injury in Rats

spinal cord injury is a devastating neurological disease that causes paralysis of muscles below the level of damage and causes immobilization. This condition can also cause secondary disorders such as osteoporosis. This study is aimed at assessing the effect of the severity of spinal cord injury on the mechanical properties of bone tissue. Methods of complete severing and contusion injury of the spinal cord were used on rats, and motor training on a treadmill was also used. The study included tensile and bending tests to assess the ultimate stresses and Young's modulus of the hind limb bone samples. The work was carried out on white laboratory rats weighing 180–200 g, divided into 4 experimental groups depending on the severity of injury and training. The results showed that spinal cord injury has a negative effect on the femurs and tibia of rats. It has also been found that motor training affects the bones of the hind limbs and is a factor affecting the destruction of bone tissue. Computed tomography of the samples revealed differences in the characteristics of bone porosity depending on the severity of the injury. Further analysis of these images will allow us to evaluate the geometric characteristics of each pore in the bone area and compare the degree of porosity change depending on the severity of the injury compared with the control group.