Shear force allowance in lumbar spine under follower load in neutral standing posture.

It has been shown experimentally that the load carrying capacity of the spine significantly increases when compressive loads are carried along the follower load (FL) direction. However, it is necessary to modify the current FL concept because a certain amount of shear force is produced during activities in daily life. In this study, a clinically allowable range of shear force was investigated using the modified FL concept. The shear force allowance was defined as the maximum ratio of the shear force to the follower force at each vertebral body center. Then, it was shown that the appropriate shear force allowance was within approximately 0.2 ~ 0.5 from the investigation of the follower forces, the shear forces, and the muscle force coordination. The predicted shear force allowance indicated that the resultant joint force is directed to a certain inside region between a half vertebral body and whole vertebral body.