Study of the Effects of Loading on Bone
The purpose of this study is to understand the motion and loads on the leg during normal daily activities and the effects of these loads on bone density. Participants will include 300 individuals without any significant muscle and bone problems. Participants are required to attend scheduled sessions, with each visit involving a clinical evaluation and measurements of leg motion during walking, stair climbing and descending, and sitting and rising from a chair set at various heights. Each visit should take two to three hours.
In addition, participants will undergo a bone density scan or “dual-energy X-ray absorptiometer” (DEXA) scan (which will take approximately one hour with the dose of radiation per session at 20 percent to 70 percent of the radiation of a conventional chest X-ray), along with an X-ray of the knee, hip and pelvis. After the scans, participants will be asked to wear a pedometer for one week to measure the number of steps taken during that week. The pedometer can be worn clipped onto a belt, waistband of a pant or skirt or to the outside of a pocket.