Biomechanical Analyses of Surgical Correction Techniques in Idiopathic Scoliosis: Significance of Bi-planar Characteristics of Scoliotic Spines

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1989

Department

Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics

Abstract

Biomechanical analyses of Harrington distraction, Harrington distraction-compression, Cotrel and Luque correction techniques simulated mechanically on a three-dimensional mathematical model of scoliotic spines are developed and relationships between mechanical forces and achievable corrections are derived in terms of Cobb angle, vertebral inclination from the frontal plane, and bi-plane bending stiffness of motion segments. For all four systems, nomograms between Cobb angles and corrective forces with correction factors as parameters are prepared in terms of given bi-plane characteristics of scoliotic spines. Parametric studies to show the influence of the torsion plane bending stiffness of motion segments and vertebral inclinations from the frontal plane on the mechanical effectiveness of the surgical correction techniques are presented. The mechanical effectiveness of each of the four surgical correction techniques determined with the use of this model compares reasonably well with the clinical findings.

Publisher's Statement

© 1989

Publication Title

Journal of Biomechanics

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