Assessment of stress patterns on a spinal motion segment in healthy versus osteoporotic bony models with or without disc degeneration: a finite element analysis.

Background Context: With an increasing prevalence of low back pain, physicians strive to optimize the treatment of patients with degenerated motion segments. There exists a consensus in literature that osteoporotic patients exhibit nonphysiologic loading patterns, while degenerated intervertebral discs (IVDs) are also believed to alter spine biomechanics.

Purpose: To evaluate alterations occurring in lumbosacral spine biomechanics of an osteoporotic model, with or without IVD degeneration, when compared with a healthy spine segment.