Effect of individual lumbar vertebral postures on its fracture strength under high-speed vertical acceleration

In the current study, a combined experimental and computational approach to investigate the effect of individual lumbar vertebral postures on lumbar spine injury risk under high-speed vertical acceleration was conducted. Specimen-specific finite element (FE) models of 3-segment functional spinal units (FSUs) were validated against the cadaveric tests; then sensitivity tests of flexion, extension and lateral bending of individual lumbar vertebral level were performed. The FE model results demonstrated that greater flexion or lateral bending would not conclusively alter the risk of spinal compression fractures; however, a greater extension angle would result in a decrease in the chance of these injuries.