How mechanical loading and bone loss change motor neuron reflexes
The Effect of Mechanical Loading and Bone Loss on the Relationship Between Motor Neuron Pool Activity and H-Reflex Amplitude
This study will test whether weight-bearing activities and whole-body vibration change spinal reflex (H-reflex) responses in postmenopausal women with and without osteoporosis.
Quick facts
| Phase | Not applicable |
|---|---|
| Study type | Interventional |
| Enrollment | 24 (estimated) |
| Ages | 18 Years to 65 Years |
| Sex | Female |
| Sponsor | Istanbul Physical Medicine Rehabilitation Training and Research Hospital Government |
| Locations | 1 site (Bahçelievler, Istanbul) |
| Trial ID | NCT07253493 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this trial studies
Researchers will record soleus muscle EMG, platform acceleration, and heel force while participants stand on a vibration platform to measure changes in the H-reflex under different mechanical loading conditions. A stimulating electrode will be placed over the tibial nerve to elicit the H-reflex while data are sampled at 2 kHz and analyzed using Spike2 software. The trial compares postmenopausal women with femoral osteoporosis to age-matched controls without osteopenia, excluding those with neurologic, muscular, significant lower-extremity pain, cardiac arrhythmias, or current osteoporosis treatment. Data will test whether load-sensitive bone signaling and muscle spindle reflex mechanisms correspond with suppressed or enhanced H-reflex responses during bone-loading activities.
Who should consider this trial
Good fit: Ideal candidates are postmenopausal women under age 65 who either have femoral osteoporosis (T-score ≤ -2.5) or have normal bone density, who are not on osteoporosis treatment and have no neurologic, muscular, cardiac, or active painful lower-extremity conditions.
Not a fit: Patients with central or peripheral nervous system disorders, myopathies, active lower-extremity pain, cardiac arrhythmias, current osteoporosis therapy, skin lesions at electrode sites, or older than 65 are unlikely to benefit or be eligible.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the results could help tailor weight-bearing or vibration-based exercise approaches to better protect bone health by clarifying the neural mechanisms involved.
How similar studies have performed: Prior studies have shown H-reflex suppression during bone-loading activities and have proposed a bone myoregulation reflex, but the precise neuroregulatory mechanisms remain incompletely established.
Eligibility criteria
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * Being in the postmenopausal period * For the osteoporosis group: having femoral osteoporosis (femoral neck or total femur T-score ≤ -2.5) * For the control group: having no osteoporosis or osteopenia (femoral neck and total femur T-scores \> -1, and L1-L4 and L2-L4 T-scores \> -1) * Being a volunteer Exclusion Criteria: * Receiving osteoporosis treatment * Having a peripheral or central nervous system disorder (e.g., stroke, polyneuropathy, radiculopathy, entrapment neuropathy, etc.) * Having acquired or hereditary muscle diseases (myopathies) * Having active painful lower extremity pathologies (e.g., osteoarthritis, inflammatory joint diseases, etc.) * Having cardiac arrhythmias * Having a history of other metabolic bone diseases * Having skin lesions at the electrode placement sites on the lower extremities * Being older than 65 years
Where this trial is running
Bahçelievler, Istanbul
- Istanbul Physical Medicine Rehabilitation Training & Research Hospital — Bahçelievler, Istanbul, Turkey (Türkiye) (Recruiting)
Study contacts
- Study coordinator: Fuat Orhun Alayoğlu, Attending doctor
- Email: f.orhunalayoglu@gmail.com
- Phone: +905348431984
How to participate
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Visit the official trial page on ClinicalTrials.gov for the most current contact information and recruitment status.
- Contact the listed study coordinator or principal investigator to request pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.