Assessment of structural and functional condition of rats bone tissue under the influence of various parameters of vibration

Whole body vibration involves the exposure of the entire human body to direct contact with environmental vibration. Chronic mechanical vibrations, combined with the physical attributes of the human body, can amplify the incoming energy and present the potential for negative health effects. Vibration exposure can, thus, result in adverse health effects such as spinal injuries, abdominal neurological and cardiovascular disorders. These can manifest indirectly as an accident causal factor. The aim of our research is to study the impact of vibration fluctuations of different frequencies on the structural and functional condition and mechanisms of bone remodelling. An experimental study was, therefore, conducted on mature male rats. For assessment of bone metabolism in the venous blood of rats, osteocalcin level was determined, while fragments of rats’ lumbar vertebrae were subsequently taken for histologic examination. Our work revealed that with the increase of vibration frequency, an increase of osteocalcin level in the blood of experimental animals comes about. Moreover, we noted after terminating vibration fluctuations on the 56^th day of the experiment, osteocalcin levels are gradually reduced. In addition, in the course of histological study of specimens of lumbar vertebrae bone tissue, even as early as of the 28^th day of the experiment, evidences of acute impairment of the bone tissue and initial signs of its remodelling are clearly traced. Indeed, on the 56^th day, the remodelling processes represented by enhanced regeneration in the zone of the cartilage plate, increased in proliferation activity. We also saw hyperplasia of chondrocytes, hypertrophy of the respective zones of cartilage tissue, zones of forming immature bone tissue on the areas of previous damage, focal replacement fibrosis and angiomatosis. Hence, with increasing vibratory acceleration of 0,5 g, the rate of bone metabolism grows, osteoblast activation processes are accelerated and the impairment of collagen and calcium loss is increased. All this leads subsequently to the occurrence of osteoporosis.