The Study Of Human Weight On The Biomechanical Behaviour Of Intervertebral Disc Using Finite Element Analysis

Yew, Junsin (2019) The Study Of Human Weight On The Biomechanical Behaviour Of Intervertebral Disc Using Finite Element Analysis. Project Report. Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Melaka, Malaysia. (Submitted)

Text (24 Pages) The Study Of Human Weight On The Biomechanical Behaviour Of Intervertebral Disc Using Finite Element Analysis.pdf - Submitted Version Download (517kB)

Abstract

Obesity is a growing healthcare issue, which always associated with different kind of diseases, such as hypertension, osteoarthritis (OA), intervertebral disc degeneration, body pain and difficulty in physical functioning. Excessive load on the spine could change the mechanical behaviour of the lumbar spine and affect the pressure and stress that occurs in the intervertebral disc particularly at nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus. However, the biomechanical effects of body weight on the lumbar spine are yet to be fully understood. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the biomechanical effects of body weight on the lumbar spine. Finite element analysis (FEA) is a suitable method in the study of intervertebral disc since it can provide a FE model for repeated simulation, which can greatly save the time consuming and more cost-efficient. The finite element model was subjected to follower compression load of 700 N, 900 N and 1300 N to represent the load case of normal, overweight and obese with a combination of pure moments of 7.5 Nm in flexion. Increasing weight shows significant effect on the kinematics of the lumbar spine for both finite element models. The excessive load on the lumbar spine increased the pressure and stress that occurs in the intervertebral disc, particularly at the nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus. The nucleus pressure was higher in flexion and increased as the compressive load was increased. This phenomenon could contribute to the earliest stages of disc degeneration, which occurs in the nucleus pulposus. In conclusion, flexion increases the nucleus pressure and appears to have differing affects to disc structure. Heavier individuals are expected to experience an increase in stress and pressure of the disc regardless of the position of the spine. Therefore, an increase in body weight of the lumbar spines changed the kinematics of the lumbar spine and causes an increase in the nucleus pressure and annulus stress. This may be a factor that can lead to early intervertebral disc damage particularly at disc rim

Actions (login required)

View Item