Compression: is it necessary for bone healing?

The authors present a review of bone healing. A literary search on the subject reveals a variety of experiments performed on healing bone using different techniques. The review of this literature establishes that compression in bone healing is not absolutely necessary. It also relates that bone healing without any fixation is not desired. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to enlighten the surgeon that controlled, semirigid, semicompressed fixation with active range of motion is the ideal criteria for bone healing, and decreases the chance of cast disease.