Abstract
Plating using direct compression plating (DCP) has become a widely employed strategy in the management of humeral fracture. Dual plating with DCPs is proposed as a method to reduce the likelihood of splintering of the humerus, especially in patients with compromised bone quality. This study undertakes a biomechanical evaluation of dual plating as a fixation method. Dual plating was found to have a mean flexural rigidity of 37.57 Nm2 in anterior-posterior bending and of 35.28 Nm2 in medio-lateral bending. These values are significantly greater than the bending rigidities of single plate systems in the majority of cases. However, the torsional rigidity of the dual plating technique was not found to be significantly greater than that of the single plate systems. This was considered to be an artefact of the constraints imposed by the design of the DCPs. A redesign of the plates used for dual plating could be expected to improve torsional rigidity to exceed that of the single plate systems. Dual plating has been shown to be a biomechanically superior method of immobilizing fracture.