A finite element analysis of the influence of surgical herniation on the viscoelastic properties of the intervertebral disc.

The purpose of this paper was to study the influence of surgical herniation on the viscoelastic properties of the intervertebral disc. The work was broken down into two phases: experimentation and analysis. In the first step of experimentation, five specimens were excised from the L1-L2 level of young adult rhesus monkeys. The prepared specimen consisted of the intervertebral joint and the two adjacent vertebral centrums without either the posterior elements or associated soft tissue. The specimens were subjected to a constant compressive load for eight hours followed by a sixteen hour relaxation time. During all the load cycles, displacement of the specimens was measured with an LVDT. After the first compressive test, the specimens were herniated and then the compressive test repeated. In the second phase of the work, a viscoelastic axisymmetric finite element model was used to quantify the experimental data. A three parameter Kelvin solid was employed in the finite element model. The results of this paper will be used to construct a dynamic model for the vertebral column.