Substantial vertebral body osteophytes protect against severe vertebral fractures in compression.

Recent findings suggest that vertebral osteophytes increase the resistance of the spine to compression. However, the role of vertebral osteophytes on the biomechanical response of the spine under fast dynamic compression, up to failure, is unclear. Seventeen human spine specimens composed of three vertebrae (from T5-T7 to T11-L1) and their surrounding soft tissues were harvested from nine cadavers, aged 77 to 92 years.

Weight management practices among heart and vascular health care providers in an ambulatory setting.

In this study, health care providers' assessment, intervention practices, and perceived barriers to weight management approaches in an ambulatory adult heart and vascular setting are reported. Their knowledge of the National Institutes of Health National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute's The Practical Guide: Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults are also described.

Finite element analysis of the influence of loading rate on a model of the full lumbar spine under dynamic loading conditions.

Despite an increase in the number of experimental and numerical studies dedicated to spinal trauma, the influence of the rate of loading or displacement on lumbar spine injuries remains unclear. In the present work, we developed a bio-realistic finite element model (FEM) of the lumbar spine using a comprehensive geometrical representation of spinal components and material laws that include strain rate dependency, bone fracture, and ligament failure. The FEM was validated against published experimental data and used to compare the initiation sites of spinal injuries under low (LD) and high (HD) dynamic compression, flexion, extension, anterior shear, and posterior shear.

Calibration of hyperelastic material properties of the human lumbar intervertebral disc under fast dynamic compressive loads.

Under fast dynamic loading conditions (e.g. high-energy impact), the load rate dependency of the intervertebral disc (IVD) material properties may play a crucial role in the biomechanics of spinal trauma.

Calibration of the mechanical properties in a finite element model of a lumbar vertebra under dynamic compression up to failure.

Finite element models (FEM) dedicated to vertebral fracture simulations rarely take into account the rate dependency of the bone material properties due to limited available data. This study aims to calibrate the mechanical properties of a vertebral body FEM using an inverse method based on experiments performed at slow and fast dynamic loading conditions. A detailed FEM of a human lumbar vertebral body (23,394 elements) was developed and tested under compression at 2,500 and 10 mm s⁻¹.