Bone lengthening and bone transport are regeneration processes that commonly rely on distraction osteogenesis, a widely accepted surgical procedure to deal with numerous bony pathologies. Despite the extensive study in the literature of the influence of biomechanical factors, a lack of knowledge about their mechanobiological differences prevents a clinical particularization. Bone lengthening treatments were performed on sheep metatarsus by reproducing the surgical and biomechanical protocol of previous bone transport experiments. Several in vivo monitoring techniques were employed to build an exhaustive comparison: gait analysis, radiographic and CT assessment, force measures through the fixation, or mechanical characterization of the new tissue. A significant initial loss of the bearing capacity, quantified by the ground reaction forces and the limb contact time with the ground, is suffered by the bone lengthening specimens. The potential effects of this anomaly on the musculoskeletal force distribution and the evolution of the bone callus elastic modulus over time are also analyzed. Imaging techniques also seem to reveal lower bone volume in the bone lengthening callus than in the bone transport one, but an equivalent mineralization rate. The simultaneous quantification of biological and mechanical parameters provides valuable information for the daily clinical routine and numerical tools development.

骨延长和骨运输是再生过程，通常依赖于牵张成骨，这是一种被广泛接受的外科手术，可处理多种骨病。尽管在文献中对生物力学因素的影响进行了广泛的研究，但缺乏对其力学生物学差异的了解阻止了临床特异性。通过复制先前骨运输实验的手术和生物力学方案，对绵羊跖骨进行了骨延长治疗。体内几种监测技术被用来建立一个详尽的比较：步态分析、射线照相和 CT 评估、通过固定的力测量或新组织的机械表征。通过地面反作用力和肢体与地面的接触时间量化的承载能力的显着初始损失是骨骼延长标本遭受的。还分析了这种异常对肌肉骨骼力分布和骨愈伤组织弹性模量随时间演变的潜在影响。成像技术似乎也显示骨延长骨痂中的骨量低于骨运输骨痂，但矿化率相同。