C

With intact cortical contact (adequate bone buttressing), the bone itself can transmit most of the functional forces, so the fixation device only needs to supplement this — a “load-sharing” construct. AO principles state that load-bearing plates are reserved for comminution or bony defects, whereas simple fractures with good buttress are treated with load-sharing fixation using miniplates or compression plates [Waiss et al., 2011, PMID 22012486; Schatzker, 1980, PMID 7378953].