Since the 19th century, mechanical actions have been used to provide relief and
repair injured tissues. However, recent and significant advances in the field of
mechanobiology suggest that mechanics can be used far beyond the musculoskeletal
system. In fact, it has been shown that mechanics plays a critical role throughout
many biological phenomena and diseases. Therefore, mechanical therapies can be
conceived to be applied at any scale, from molecules to organs. We want to
jumpstart a new field of research to promote a new era of innovative therapies:
theramechanics. First, we define this newly coined term, its basic mechanical
principles as well as a brief review of some premises of theramechanics. Then, we
focus on potential theramechanics in the field of bone mechanobiology and
cancerogenesis. To do so, we provide the tools to build computational models
enabling us to perform in silico multidisciplinary trials and conceive personalized
theramechanics. We strongly believe that theramechanics will provide impressive
results turning upside down the old therapy model and becoming the new clinical
paradigm.
Keywords
theramechanics, in silico models, continuum mechanics, bone
mechanobiology, cancerogenesis