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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Mar 1.
Published in final edited form as: Spine J. 2013 Jan 29;13(3):243–262. doi: 10.1016/j.spinee.2012.12.002

Figure 5.

Figure 5

Biomechanical effects of IVD injury including the mechanisms for biomechanical changes, sensitive biomechanical tests, observed effects on mechanical behaviors, and defects that are likely to be detectable from that test. Loss of NP pressurization or volume can happen at early or minor stages of injury and degeneration with axial loading being a sensitive biomechanical test. Loss of AF integrity occurs with larger injuries or more advanced stages of degeneration and also encompasses those changes observed with loss of NP pressurization. Torsional testing tends to be sensitive and specific for loss of AF integrity. Axial and torsion testing can enable characterization of both of these essential functions.