Studies on the internal failure mechanics of lumbar intervertebral discs

Abstract

While several mechanical disruption studies of lumbar intervertebral discs have previously been carried out in vitro, none have sought to examine the microstructure of the resulting tissue failures. Consequently, how various spinal postures during loading and various loading rates for a given posture affect the disc's internal failure mechanics has yet to be documented. In the studies contained herein, ovine lumbar intervertebral discs have been mechanically disrupted by injecting radio-opaque gel into their nucleus via an injection screw inserted longitudinally through their inferior vertebra. The resulting disruption caused to each disc was subsequently examined using microcomputed tomography and microscopy in tandem.