A Computational and Experimental Investigation Into Biomechanics of Lumbar Spine Stabilized With a Novel Posterior Dynamic Stabilization System

Lumbar spinal stenosis is a progressive degenerative condition due to arthritic facet joints. Arthritic facets become inflamed and often develop osteophytes, leading to nerve compression and persistent severe back pain. When conservative treatment fails to reduce pain, surgical management may be pursued to improve the patient’s quality of life. Spinal decompression and fusion is one of the most common surgical procedures for treatment of spinal stenosis. However, fusion may result in accelerated degeneration of the adjacent motion segments and morbidity [1]. Motion preservation instrumentation is being developed to preserve motion at the involved and adjacent segments, as opposed to fusion procedure [2]. In this study, we used experimental and finite element (FE) techniques to assess and compare the biomechanics of intact spines and spines implanted with a novel posterior dynamic stabilizer device (TrueDyn™, Disc Motion Technologies, Boca Raton, FL). The effects on the adjacent segment, including motion and intra-discal pressure were analyzed.