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This study quantified their effects on construct stiffness, plate strain, and interfragmentary motion under axial loading. Twenty-seven configurations were tested using epoxy-glass surrogate bone fixed with titanium LCP plates, varying fracture gap (3\u20139\u00a0mm), working length (49\u2013121\u00a0mm), and plate\u2013bone distance (0\u20133\u00a0mm). Digital image correlation measured strain and motion. Contact events were identified manually from characteristic transitions in the force\u2013displacement response, supported by corresponding changes in plate-surface strain progression. Geometric parameters dominated initial stiffness (125\u2013442\u00a0N\/mm), decreasing with plate elevation and working length in elevated setups. Within the investigated load range up to 600\u00a0N, 16\/27 configurations showed non-linear transitions associated with contact events: fragment\u2013fragment contact caused pronounced stiffness increases and strain stagnation at the fracture gap, whereas plate\u2013bone contact was associated with local plate-surface strain stagnation at the location overlying the contact while strain at the fracture gap continued to increase. Interfragmentary motion stagnated after contact, confirming contact-dependent shifts in load transfer. Response surface regression explained 81.9% of the variance in initial stiffness and 89.6% of the variance in axial interfragmentary motion, identifying outcome-specific associations with geometric parameters and selected interaction terms. In conclusion, load-dependent contact events were associated with distinct transitions in construct stiffness, plate-surface strain progression, and interfragmentary motion, complementing the observed associations between geometric parameters and initial mechanical behavior.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1007\/s00402-026-06494-y","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]],"date-time":"2026-09-04T06:50:29Z","timestamp":1788504629000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["From load-bearing to load-sharing: contact-driven transitions in locked plate constructs"],"prefix":"10.1007","volume":"146","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9537-9070","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marianne","family":"Hollensteiner","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Martina","family":"Schindler","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Markus","family":"Greinwald","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mischa","family":"M\u00fchling","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dirk","family":"Baumeister","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Peter","family":"Augat","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]]},"reference":[{"issue":"Suppl 2","key":"6494_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"63","DOI":"10.1016\/s0020-1383(01)00127-9","volume":"32","author":"R Frigg","year":"2001","unstructured":"Frigg R (2001) Locking compression plate (LCP). 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