Biomechanics of anterior plating failure in treating distractive flexion injury in the caudal subaxial cervical spine.

Background: Operative level is a potential biomechanical risk factor for construct failure during anterior fixation for distractive flexion injury. No biomechanical study of this concept has been reported, although it is important in clinical management.

Methods: To explore the mechanism of this concept, a previously validated three-dimensional C2-T1 finite element model was modified to simulate surgical procedure via the anterior approach for treating single-level distractive flexion injury, from C2-C3 to C7-T1.