Fatigue responses of the human cervical spine intervertebral discs. 2017

Narayan Yoganandan, and Sagar Umale, and Brain Stemper, and Bryan Snyder
Department of Neurosurgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States; Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States. Electronic address: yoga@mcw.edu.

Numerous studies have been conducted since more than fifty years to understand the behavior of the human lumbar spine under fatigue loading. Applications have been largely driven by low back pain and human body vibration problems. The human neck also sustains fatigue loading in certain type of civilian occupational and military operational activities, and research is very limited in this area. Being a visco-elastic structure, it is important to determine the stress-relaxation properties of the human cervical spine intervertebral discs to enable accurate simulations of these structures in stress-analysis models. While finite element models have the ability to incorporate viscoelastic material definitions, data specific to the cervical spine are limited. The present study was conducted to determine these properties and understand the responses of the human lower cervical spine discs under large number of cyclic loads in the axial compression mode. Eight disc segments consisting of the adjacent vertebral bodies along with the longitudinal ligaments were subjected to compression, followed by 10,000 cycles of loading at 2 or 4Hz frequency by limiting the axial load to approximately 150 N, and subsequent to resting period, subjected to compression to extract the stress-relaxation properties using the quasi-linear viscoelastic (QLV) material model. The coefficients of the model and disc displacements as a function of cycles and loading frequency are presented. The disc responses demonstrated a plateauing effect after the first 2000 to 4000 cycles, which were highly nonlinear. The paper compares these responses with the "work hardening" phenomenon proposed in clinical literature for the lumbar spine to explain the fatigue behavior of the discs. The quantitative results in terms of QLV coefficients can serve as inputs to complex finite element models of the cervical spine to delineate the local and internal load-sharing responses of the disc segment.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007403 Intervertebral Disc Any of the 23 plates of fibrocartilage found between the bodies of adjacent VERTEBRAE. Disk, Intervertebral,Intervertebral Disk,Disc, Intervertebral,Discs, Intervertebral,Disks, Intervertebral,Intervertebral Discs,Intervertebral Disks
D002574 Cervical Vertebrae The first seven VERTEBRAE of the SPINAL COLUMN, which correspond to the VERTEBRAE of the NECK. Cervical Spine,Cervical Spines,Spine, Cervical,Vertebrae, Cervical
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D001696 Biomechanical Phenomena The properties, processes, and behavior of biological systems under the action of mechanical forces. Biomechanics,Kinematics,Biomechanic Phenomena,Mechanobiological Phenomena,Biomechanic,Biomechanic Phenomenas,Phenomena, Biomechanic,Phenomena, Biomechanical,Phenomena, Mechanobiological,Phenomenas, Biomechanic
D013314 Stress, Mechanical A purely physical condition which exists within any material because of strain or deformation by external forces or by non-uniform thermal expansion; expressed quantitatively in units of force per unit area. Mechanical Stress,Mechanical Stresses,Stresses, Mechanical
D014783 Viscosity The resistance that a gaseous or liquid system offers to flow when it is subjected to shear stress. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed) Viscosities
D016474 Weight-Bearing The physical state of supporting an applied load. This often refers to the weight-bearing bones or joints that support the body's weight, especially those in the spine, hip, knee, and foot. Load-Bearing,Axial Loading,Loadbearing,Weightbearing,Axial Loadings,Load Bearing,Weight Bearing
D017846 Longitudinal Ligaments Two extensive fibrous bands running the length of the vertebral column. The anterior longitudinal ligament (ligamentum longitudinale anterius; lacertus medius) interconnects the anterior surfaces of the vertebral bodies; the posterior longitudinal ligament (ligamentum longitudinale posterius) interconnects the posterior surfaces. The commonest clinical consideration is OSSIFICATION OF POSTERIOR LONGITUDINAL LIGAMENT. (From Stedman, 25th ed) Anterior Longitudinal Ligament,Ligamentum Longitudinale,Posterior Longitudinal Ligament,Anterior Longitudinal Ligaments,Ligament, Anterior Longitudinal,Ligament, Longitudinal,Ligament, Posterior Longitudinal,Ligaments, Anterior Longitudinal,Ligaments, Longitudinal,Ligaments, Posterior Longitudinal,Longitudinal Ligament,Longitudinal Ligament, Anterior,Longitudinal Ligament, Posterior,Longitudinal Ligaments, Anterior,Longitudinal Ligaments, Posterior,Posterior Longitudinal Ligaments
D020342 Finite Element Analysis A computer based method of simulating or analyzing the behavior of structures or components. Analysis, Finite Element,Analyses, Finite Element,Element Analyses, Finite,Element Analysis, Finite,Finite Element Analyses

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