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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2016 Jan 31.
Published in final edited form as: Exp Neurol. 2014 Dec 5;264:111–120. doi: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2014.11.015

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Characterization of the mechanical loading of the C6/C7 facet joint. (A) Injurious loading (Inj) imposes greater C6/C7 vertebral distraction and generates higher maximum principal strains (MPS) in the facet capsule than does physiologic loading (Phys). (B,C) Vertebral distraction, capsule distraction, and load across the facet joint are significantly higher during injurious loading than physiologic loading. Data are mean±SD (n=18–19 rats per group). *p<0.0001 compared by Student’s t-test. (D) Representative images of the facet joint are shown before distraction (unloaded), and at the peak of injurious loading of the joint. The maximum principal strain field is shown for the corresponding loaded facet capsule of a representative rat, with injurious joint loading inducing 0.92mm of vertebral distraction and a mean MPS of 34%.