Abstract
Thigh pain appears often after THA used of the cement-less femoral components, but the appearance mechanism of thigh pain does not have been elucidated. As one factor of manifestation of thigh pain, it has been guessed that the pressure from the inside of medullary cavity of bone by the stem. The purpose of this study is confirming whether the flexor reflex is caused, by using the femur of a rabbit that applied the pressure from the inside of medullary cavity of bone.
Japanese white rabbits with weight of about 3kg were used. Evaluation of the appearance of the pain by the pressure was performed by measurement of the hind leg flexor activity produced by the flexor reflex. After confirming that appearance of the muscles activity by the pain reflex from adding the pain stimulus to the hind leg skin of rabbits, we loaded of the pressure into the inside of medullary cavity of bone and observed whether the muscles activity appears. As the laboratory animals model, we prepared two kinds of rabbits by the difference in the amount of reaming. And we tested how the differences show up between these two kinds of rabbits.
In the rabbits with few amounts of reaming, the flexor reflex appeared in low pressure. But, in the rabbits with many amounts of reaming, the flexor reflex did not appear in high pressure, either.
It is known that the somatic sensory nerves are distributed in the bone, and it is known that the sensory nerve ends exist in the medullary cavity of bone. It was suggested that the pain is induced, when the sensory nerve ends remained in the inside of medullary cavity of bone and the pressure in whicha reaction is possible was carried out there.
Correspondence should be addressed to Richard Komistek, PhD, International Society for Technology in Arthroplasty, PO Box 6564, Auburn, CA 95604, USA. E-mail: ista@pacbell.net
