How much do we know about the role of osteocytes in different phases of fracture healing? A systematic review.

Background: Although emerging studies have provided evidence that osteocytes are actively involved in fracture healing, there is a general lack of a detailed understanding of the mechanistic pathway, cellular events and expression of markers at different phases of healing.

Methods: This systematic review describes the role of osteocytes in fracture healing from early to late phase. Literature search was performed in PubMed and Embase.

Can we enhance osteoporotic metaphyseal fracture healing through enhancing ultrastructural and functional changes of osteocytes in cortical bone with low-magnitude high-frequency vibration?

Fragility fractures are related to the loss of bone integrity and deteriorated morphology of osteocytes. Our previous studies have reported that low-magnitude high-frequency vibration (LMHFV) promoted osteoporotic fracture healing. As osteocytes are known for mechanosensing and initiating bone repair, we hypothesized that LMHFV could enhance osteoporotic fracture healing through enhancing morphological changes in the osteocyte lacuna-canalicular network (LCN) and mineralization.