Finite element analysis of the influence of three-joint spinal complex on the change of the intervertebral disc bulge and height

Klaudia Szkoda-Poliszuk; Małgorzata Żak; Celina Pezowicz

doi:10.1002/cnm.3107

Finite element analysis of the influence of three-joint spinal complex on the change of the intervertebral disc bulge and height

Int J Numer Method Biomed Eng. 2018 Sep;34(9):e3107. doi: 10.1002/cnm.3107. Epub 2018 Jun 11.

Authors

Klaudia Szkoda-Poliszuk¹, Małgorzata Żak¹, Celina Pezowicz¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Biomedical Engineering, Mechatronics and Theory of Mechanisms, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wrocław, Poland.

PMID: 29799170
DOI: 10.1002/cnm.3107

Abstract

This study evaluated the changes of height and bulging occurring in individual layers of the annulus fibrosus of the intervertebral disc for 3 load scenarios (axial compression, flexion, and extension). The numerical model of a single motion segment of the thoracic spine was analysed for 2 different configurations, ie, for the model of a physiological segment and a segment with the posterior column removed. In the physiological segment, all annulus fibrosus layers decrease in height regardless of the applied load, bulging outside the intervertebral disc. Removal of the posterior column increases mobility and disrupts the load transfer system, with the lamellae bulging into the intervertebral disc.

Keywords: 3-joint complex; bulging disc; finite element method; intervertebral disc; thoracic spine segment.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Elastic Modulus
Finite Element Analysis*
Humans
Intervertebral Disc / physiology*
Models, Biological
Movement
Pressure
Spine / physiology*