Ultrasound Shear Wave Elastography Quantitatively Assesses Tension Changes of Supraspinous/Interspinous Ligament Complex Under Varied Loads.

Background: Although interspinous and supraspinous ligaments of the lumbar spine are thought to contribute to spinal stability, little is known about their dynamic biomechanics. We demonstrate that shear wave elastography (SWE) offers a novel technique to noninvasively and quantitatively evaluate posterior spinous ligament complex functional loading and stiffness in different physiologic positions.

Methods: We performed SWE and measured the length of the interspinous/supraspinous ligament complex in cadaveric torsos ( = 5), isolated ligaments ( = 10), and healthy volunteers ( = 9) to obtain length and shear wave velocity measurements.