Biomechanical study of the cervical spine

Abstract

The cervical spine is one of the most complex structures of the human skeleton. The knowledge of the cervical spine kinematics is a very important tool for many clinical applications such as diagnosis, treatment and surgical interventions and for the development of new spinal implants. The finite element method (FEM) is a well-known and widely used numerical method. In this study a three dimensional finite element (FE) model for the functional spine unit (FSU) C5-C6 was developed using computed tomography (CT) data. This model was used to study the internal stresses and strains of the intervertebral discs under static loading conditions of compression, extension, flexion, right lateral bending and left torsion. A hyperelastic constitutive model was used to describe the mechanical behavior of the nucleus pulposus. Maximum principal stresses in the disc were analyzed and higher values were found for the flexion movement. Maximum stresses in ligaments were observed for flexion and extension load cases.