Transmission of vibration at the lower lumbar spine due to whole-body vibration: a numerical human model study

Lower back disorders due to whole-body vibration (WBV) are the most common injuries reported by professional drivers. Such injuries often have long-term complications leading to significant personal and societal costs. An improved mathematical model of the whole human body would contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms of lower back injury and be valuable in injury prevention research. Current biodynamic human models reported in the literature lack detailed information for predicting the non-linearity due to vibration amplitude of transmission of vibration from seat to a human. Therefore, one of the primary objectives of this research has been to develop and validate a detailed threedimensional biodynamic human model, with special attention given to the incorporation of active trunk muscles with non-linear stiffness properties. These muscles have been incorporated into an existing spine and neck model of a MADYMO 50th percentile male occupant model. A detailed multi-body human model has been developed, called MODEL ONE. This thesis shows that incorporating non-linear stiffness functions and energy dissipation using hysteresis or damping into a human model is appropriate for predicting non-linear biodynamic responses in arbitrary excitation functions. A major advantage of MODEL ONE compared to other multi-body models and lumped mass models is its ability to predict nonlinear seat-to-human transmissibility. However MADYMO 50th male occupant models use simplified geometry and rigid bodies to represent the lower lumbar spine. These simplified spinal models have no ability to simulate the internal stresses and deformations of soft tissues, even if these are the apparent cause of lower back pain (LBP). Therefore a detailed finite element human lower lumbar spine model - with appropriate material properties and capable of simulating internal stresses⎯is necessary, in order to better understand spinal injuries under WBV. A three-dimensional finite element model of a lower lumbar spine motion segment - called MODEL TWO - has thus been developed for the present study. MODEL TWO comprises a detailed geometric description of vertebrae, nucleus pulposus, endplates, and intervertebral discs. The intervertebral discs lump together the annulus fibrosus, ground substance and ligaments. The vertebrae have been assumed to be rigid. The material properties of the intervertebral discs of MODEL TWO were obtained from test matrices and from various parameter data reported in the literature. MODEL TWO has been validated against cadaveric experiments reported in the literature. The mechanical behaviour and stress distribution within the MODEL TWO intervertebral disc agree reasonably well with the cadaveric experiments. MODEL TWO was integrated into MODEL ONE to form a new human model, called MODEL THREE, which was subsequently dynamically validated against volunteers' responses to WBV reported in the literature. MODEL THREE, as presented in this thesis, consists of a multi-body human model with detailed representation of a finite element (FE) lower lumbar spine. As far as the author is aware, MODEL THREE is the first model with detailed representation of a FE lower lumbar spine to successfully demonstrate that it is capable of simulating the stress profile of the entire intervertebral disc and endplate region due to WBV. The simulated results revealed abnormal stress concentrations in both the posterior and xviii the posterolateral annulus. The stresses increased most in the posterolateral intervertebral discs region during WBV, suggesting a possible mechanism for disc mechanical overload leading to fatigue fracture and degeneration. The results from MODEL THREE are promising and lead to a more comprehensive understanding of the behaviour of the intervertebral disc under WBV. MODEL THREE has also provided a good foundation for the development of a bio-fidelity human model. However, implementation of currently unavailable and/or inadequate in vitro and in vivo experimental studies is needed to further validate and develop MODEL THREE. A better understanding of injury mechanisms and the clinical significance of LBP will ultimately be arrived at using a combination of analytical models with in vitro and in vivo experimental data