6. Stress Shielding of Bone

Instead of doing something dramatic (such as skiing) to break a bone, Fred Ferd tripped over the curb on the way to his car after work and fractured the midshaft of his radius and ulna. His fractures were treated the following day by open reduction and plating of both bones in the Swiss manner. His convalescence was uneventful, and his fractures healed in about 10 weeks, but subsequent X rays showed some resorption of the bone under the plates, and his surgeon began to suggest that the bone might not be as strong as he had hoped. What could cause bone under a rigid plate to suddenly begin to be absorbed?