Résumé
Le but de cette recherche a été de confirmer l'hypothèse selon laquelle l'altération d'un corps vertébral peut créer une concentration anormale des contraintes dans les disques intervertébraux adjacents. 23 segments mobiles cadavériques prélevés sur des sujets de 19 à 87 ans, ont été soumis à une charge importante, en position dite neutre, en extension et en flexion. Pendant la phase de mise en charge, un capteur de pression miniaturisé, placé dans de disque, le long de son diamètre sagittal médian, a permis d'obtenir les courbes des contraintes de compression horizontale et verticale; les mesures ont été répétées après que chaque segment mobile a été comprimé jusqu'au point de rupture mécanique: les corps vertébraux ont présenté alors des altérations mineures au niveau des travées spongieuses et parfois des plateaux, mais leur structure est restée intacte et la hauteur du segment mobile ne s'est réduite que de 1 à 2%. Après le traumatisme, les contraintes ont chuté d'environ 30% dans le nucléus et la partie antérieure de l'annulus, et des pics de contrainte élevés sont apparus dans les couches profondes de la partie postérieure de l'annulus. Ces modifications ont été plus importantes en extension et moins prononcées en flexion. Les disques les plus jeunes ont présenté les modifications les plus discrètes. En conclusion, les tassements mineurs du corps vertébral peuvent conduire à des concentrations de contraintes très élevées dans la partie postérieure de l'annulus. Le corps vertébral étant le point faible du rachis lombaire, son altération peut être considérée comme une cause fréquente de faillite discale.
Summary
The purpose of this investigation was to test the hypothesis that damage to a lumbar vertebral body can lead to abnormal stress concentrations in the adjacent intervertebral discs. Twenty-three cadaveric lumbar “motion segments”, from persons who had died aged between 19 and 87 years, were subjected to substantial compressive loading while in the neutral, lordotic and flexed “postures”. During the loading period, a miniature pressure transducer was pulled through the disc along its mid-sagittal diameter and graphs of horizontal and vertical compressive stress against distance were obtained. Measurements were repeated after each motion segment had been compressed up to the point of mechanical failure: at this point the vertebral bodies suffered minor damage to the trabecular arcades, and sometimes to the end-plate, but the structure remained essentially intact and motion segment height was reduced by only 1%–2%. After damage, the stress in the nucleus and anterior annulus fell by about 30%, and high stress peaks appeared in the inner posterior annulus. These changes were more pronounced in lordotic posture and less pronounced in flexion. The youngest discs showed the smallest changes. It is concluded that minor compressive damage to the vertebral body can lead to high stress concentrations in the posterior annulus. Since the vertebral body is the “weak link” of the lumbar spine, this may be a frequent precipitating cause of isolated disc failure in living people.
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AcroMed Prize of the European Spine Society 1992
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Adams, M.A., McNally, D.S., Wagstaff, J. et al. Abnormal stress concentrations in lumbar intervertebral discs following damage to the vertebral bodies: a cause of disc failure?. Eur Spine J 1, 214–221 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00298362
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00298362