Evidence brief
Wolff's Law: Bone Adaptation to Mechanical Loading
Bone adapts to loads placed upon it
Increased loading = increased bone density
Decreased loading = bone resorption
Trabecular alignment follows stress trajectories
Foundation for understanding stress shielding
Wolff's Law explains bone adaptation to mechanical environment, with clinical implications for implant design, rehabilitation, and osteoporosis.
Understand clinical applications: stress shielding under plates/stems, disuse osteoporosis, exercise-induced bone strengthening. Know mechanostat theory (Frost). Discuss implications for implant design (stiffness matching).
Wolff J. Das Gesetz der Transformation der Knochen. Berlin: Hirschwald; 1892. (The Law of Bone Remodeling)
Level V
Expert opinion or mechanism-based reasoning