Faculty Collaboration Database

Rate-dependent fracture characteristics of lumbar vertebral bodies. J Mech Behav Biomed Mater 2015 Jan;41:271-9

Date

08/27/2014

Pubmed ID

25154535

DOI

10.1016/j.jmbbm.2014.07.035

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-84919907500 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   23 Citations

Abstract

Experimental testing incorporating lumbar columns and isolated components is essential to advance the understanding of injury tolerance and for the development of safety enhancements. This study incorporated a whole column axial acceleration model and an isolated vertebral body model to quantify compression rates during realistic loading and compressive tolerance of vertebrae. Eight lumbar columns and 53 vertebral bodies from 23 PMHS were used. Three-factor ANOVA was used to determine significant differences (p<0.05) in physiologic and failure biomechanics based on compression rate, spinal level, and gender. Results demonstrated a significant increase in ultimate force (i.e., fracture) from lower to higher compression rates. Ultimate stress also increased with compression rate. Displacement and strain to failure were consistent at both compression rates. Differences in ultimate mechanics between vertebral bodies obtained from males and females demonstrated non-significant trends, with female vertebral bodies having lower ultimate force that would be associated with decreased injury tolerance. This was likely a result of smaller vertebrae in that population. Combined with existing literature, results presented in this manuscript contribute to the understanding of lumbar spine tolerance during axial loading events that occur in both military and civilian environments with regard to effects of compression rate and gender.

Author List

Stemper BD, Yoganandan N, Baisden JL, Umale S, Shah AS, Shender BS, Paskoff GR

Authors

Brian Stemper PhD Professor in the Biomedical Engineering department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Narayan Yoganandan PhD Professor in the Neurosurgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Female
Fractures, Bone
Humans
Kinetics
Lumbar Vertebrae
Male
Materials Testing
Weight-Bearing