Effect of Annular Micro Tear on Lumbar Intervertebral Disc Biomechanics

Structural alterations of the disc are accompanied by changes in disc tissue structure and composition during degeneration processes. Human cadaver studies have shown that the probability of presence of annular tear is 0.6 in the age group 30 to 34 which increases to 0.85 in the 60 year age group. Among different phenomena that occur during disc degeneration, annular radial tears are commonly associated with disc herniations. The effect of increase in size of radial micro tear in the lumbar discs on the change in biomechanics of the disc is an area where there is very little information currently in the literature.