Injectable Polymer-Based Approaches for Trabecular Bone Regeneration: Current Strategies and Future Directions

Trabecular bone repair presents a significant challenge in orthopedic surgery due to its complex microarchitecture and the substantial mechanical demands it endures. Injectable polymers have emerged as a promising solution, offering tunable mechanical properties, minimally invasive delivery, and excellent biocompatibility. This review comprehensively explores the trabecular bone physiology, its intrinsic healing mechanism, and conventional surgical and non-surgical methods for bone fracture management. Furthermore, it provide a detailed discussion on injectable polymers, including their classification, advantages, biomedical applications and their role in bone scaffolding. Special attention is given to the emerging field of 4D materials, which exhibit responsiveness to external stimuli like light, temperature, and pH, offering significant potential in tissue engineering. Finally, the review examines clinical studies assessing the efficacy of injectable polymers in bone repair, providing insights into future advancements in biomaterials for trabecular bone repair.