A Biodynamic Model of the Human Spinal Column 760771
A biodynamic model of the spine simulated the action of spinal musculature on the head, vertebral bodies and pelvis in the midsagittal plane. Muscle was treated as a force generator whose contractile force was dependant on muscle stretch, stretch rate and neural delay time. Eight model runs were conducted with and without muscle, simulating +Gz and -Gx impact acceleration. The model predicted that spinal musculature was incapable of affecting overall spinal column kinematics. However, as a result of muscle contraction, significantly higher local axial forces were predicted in the discs and facets than were predicted when muscle was absent.
