Biomechanical responses of the human lumbar spine to vertical whole-body vibration in normal and osteoporotic conditions

Background: The prevalence of osteoporosis is continuing to escalate with an aging population. However, it remains unclear how biomechanical behavior of the lumbar spine is affected by osteoporosis under whole-body vibration, which is considered a significant risk factor for degenerative spinal disease and is typically present when driving a car. Accordingly, the objective of this study was to compare the spine biomechanical responses to vertical whole-body vibration between normal and osteoporotic conditions. Methods: A three-dimensional finite-element model of the normal human lumbar spine-pelvis segment was developed using computed tomographic scans and was validated against experimental data. Osteoporotic condition was simulated by modifying material properties of bone tissues in the normal model. Transient dynamic analyses were conducted on the normal and osteoporotic models to compute deformation and stress in all lumbar motion segments. Findings: When osteoporosis occurred, vibration amplitudes of the vertebral axial displacement, disc bulge, and disc stress were increased by 32.1–45.4%, 25.7–47.1% and 23.0–42.7%, respectively. In addition, it was found that for both the normal and osteoporotic models, the response values (disc bugle and disc stress) were higher in L4–L5 and L5–S1 intervertebral discs than in other discs. Interpretation: Osteoporosis deteriorates the effect of whole-body vibration on lumbar spine, and the lower lumbar segments might have a higher likelihood of disc degeneration under whole-body vibration.