Fatigue damage prediction in the annulus of cervical spine intervertebral discs using finite element analysis

Adhitya V. Subramani, Phillip E. Whitley, Harsha T. Garimella, Reuben H. Kraft

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Neck pain is a major inhibitor affecting the performance of U.S. military personnel. Repetitive exposure to cyclic loading due to military activities over several years can lead to accumulation of fatigue damage in the cervical intervertebral disc annuli, leading to neck pain. We have developed a computational damage model based on continuum damage mechanics, to predict fatigue damage to cervical disc annuli over several years of exposure to military loading scenarios. By integrating this fatigue damage model with a finite element model of the cervical spine, we have overcome the underlying assumption of a uniform stress distribution in the annulus. The resulting element-wise damage prediction gives us insight into the location of damage initiation and pattern of fatigue damage progression in the cervical disc annulus.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)773-784
Number of pages12
JournalComputer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering
Volume23
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 17 2020

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Bioengineering
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Computer Science Applications

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