The effect of disc degeneration on anterior shear translation in the lumbar spine.

J Orthop Res

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Department of Orthopaedics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Published: April 2015

Many pathologies involving disc degeneration are treated with surgery and spinal implants. It is important to understand how the spine behaves mechanically as a function of disc degeneration. Shear loading is especially relevant in the natural and surgically stabilized lumbar spine. The objective of our study was to determine the effect of disc degeneration on anterior translation of the lumbar spine under shear loading. We tested 30 human cadaveric functional spinal units (L3-4 and L4-5) in anterior shear loading. First, the specimens were imaged in a 1.5 T magnetic resonance scanner. The discs were graded according to the Pfirrmann classification. The specimens were then loaded up to 250 N in anterior shear with an axial compression force of 300 N. Motion of the vertebrae was captured with an optoelectronic camera system. Inter- and intra-observer reliability for disc grading was determined (Cohen's and Fleiss' Kappa), and a non-parametric test was performed on the translation data to characterize the effect of disc degeneration on this parameter. We found fair to moderate agreement between and within observers for the disc grading. We found no significant effect of disc degeneration on anterior shear translation (Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA). Our results indicate that disc degeneration, as classified with the Pfirrmann scale, does not predict lumbar spinal motion in shear.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jor.22792DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

disc degeneration
28
anterior shear
16
degeneration anterior
12
lumbar spine
12
shear loading
12
disc
9
shear translation
8
translation lumbar
8
disc grading
8
shear
7

Similar Publications

In this study, we explored the impact of different biomechanical loadings on lumbar spine motion segments, particularly concerning intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD). We aimed to uncover the cellular milieu and mechanisms driving ossification in the nucleus pulposus (NP) during IVDD, a process whose underlying mechanisms have remained elusive. The study involved the examination of fresh NP tissue from the L3-S1 segment of five individuals, either with IVDD or healthy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: This study aimed to compare the incidence of radiological adjacent segment disease (R-ASD) at L3/4 between patients with L4/5 degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS) who underwent L4/5 posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) and those who underwent microscopic bilateral decompression via a unilateral approach (MBDU) at L4/5. Our ultimate goal was to distinguish the course of natural lumbar degeneration from fusion-related degeneration while eliminating L4/5 decompression as a confounder.

Methods: Ninety patients with L4/5 DS who underwent L4/5 PLIF (n = 53) or MBDU (n = 37) and were followed for at least 5 years were retrospectively analyzed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Cervical degeneration involves many pathophysiological changes. Vertebral bone loss, sclerotic hyperplasia of the vertebral body and intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) are most common degenerative factors. However, whether there is a correlation between changes in vertebral bone mass and IDD remains unclear.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Fundamentals of intervertebral disc degeneration and related discogenic pain.

World J Orthop

January 2025

Department of Orthopedics, The Third Medical Center, General Hospital of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, Beijing 100039, China.

Lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration is thought to be the main cause of low back pain, although the mechanisms by which it occurs and leads to pain remain unclear. In healthy adult discs, vessels and nerves are present only in the outer layer of the annulus fibrosus and in the bony endplate. Animal models, and histological and biomechanical studies have shown that annulus tear or endplate injury is the initiating factor for painful disc degeneration.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In healthy intervertebral discs (IVDs), nerves and blood vessels are present only in the outer annulus fibrosus, while in degenerative IVDs, a large amount of nerve and blood vessel tissue grows inward. Evidence supports that neurogenic inflammation produced by neuropeptides such as substance P and calcitonin gene related peptide released by the nociceptive nerve fibers innervating the IVDs plays a crucial role in the process of IVD degeneration. Recently, non-neuronal cells, including IVD cells and infiltrating immune cells, have emerged as important players in neurogenic inflammation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!