Damage Prediction for a Cervical Spine Intervertebral Disc

A large part of the military population develop severe neck pain as a result of complex cyclic loading on the cervical spine. It is hypothesized that this pain is linked to accelerated intervertebral disc degeneration caused by wearing heavier head supported equipments for extended periods of time. This heavy head supported mass exerts high amplitude cyclic loads at the neck that may result in fatigue failure of the intervertebral disc. In this paper, we present a methodology to predict damage in the intervertebral disc over extended periods of time. With this model, we attempt to understand initiation and progression of damage in the disc due to loads exerted on the neck. Such an understanding can be beneficial in the development of better helmets and head mounted equipment for the soldiers.