A Pilot Study on the Age-Dependent, Biomechanical Properties of Longitudinal Ligaments in the Human Cervical Spine
The cervical spine ligaments, including the anterior longitudinal ligament (ALL) and posterior longitudinal ligament (PLL), play a key role in maintaining spinal stability by limiting excessive movements. This study investigates how ageing affects the mechanical properties of these ligaments. We ana...
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2025-01-01
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| author | Narendra Singh Ana Trajkovski Jovan Trajkovski Robert Kunc Jose Felix Rodriguez Matas |
| author_facet | Narendra Singh Ana Trajkovski Jovan Trajkovski Robert Kunc Jose Felix Rodriguez Matas |
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| description | The cervical spine ligaments, including the anterior longitudinal ligament (ALL) and posterior longitudinal ligament (PLL), play a key role in maintaining spinal stability by limiting excessive movements. This study investigates how ageing affects the mechanical properties of these ligaments. We analysed 33 samples from 12 human cervical spines (15 ALL, 18 PLL), averaging data from the same donors for independent analysis, resulting in 18 final samples (8 ALL, 10 PLL). To explore age-related changes, we classified the samples into two groups—below and above 50 years old—aligning with the peak incidence of major musculoskeletal disorders. The investigation concentrated on the effects of age on four mechanical parameters of the uniaxial stress–stretch curve: initial tangent stiffness (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>E</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>0</mn></mrow></msub></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>), maximum tangent stiffness (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>E</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>m</mi></mrow></msub></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>), ultimate stress (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>P</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>u</mi></mrow></msub></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>) and ultimate stretch (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>λ</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>u</mi></mrow></msub></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>). When the age effect is neglected, then the behaviours of both the ALL and PLL appeared similar. However, when introducing age as a variable into the context of the ALL and PLL, statistically significant differences became evident. The findings underscored a reduction in maximum tangent stiffness (<i>p</i>-value = 0.0147), ultimate stress (<i>p</i>-value = 0.0009), and ultimate stretch (<i>p</i>-value = 0.0024) when the ALL and PLL were grouped under and above 50 years as a consequence of ageing. |
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| spelling | doaj-art-8d8590bc4521461b9d8a525aa8992ac92025-01-24T13:23:07ZengMDPI AGBioengineering2306-53542025-01-011216110.3390/bioengineering12010061A Pilot Study on the Age-Dependent, Biomechanical Properties of Longitudinal Ligaments in the Human Cervical SpineNarendra Singh0Ana Trajkovski1Jovan Trajkovski2Robert Kunc3Jose Felix Rodriguez Matas4Chair of Modelling in Engineering Sciences and Medicine, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Aškerčeva c. 6, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaChair of Modelling in Engineering Sciences and Medicine, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Aškerčeva c. 6, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaChair of Modelling in Engineering Sciences and Medicine, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Aškerčeva c. 6, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaChair of Modelling in Engineering Sciences and Medicine, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Aškerčeva c. 6, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaDepartment of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta”, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci, 32, 20133 Milano, ItalyThe cervical spine ligaments, including the anterior longitudinal ligament (ALL) and posterior longitudinal ligament (PLL), play a key role in maintaining spinal stability by limiting excessive movements. This study investigates how ageing affects the mechanical properties of these ligaments. We analysed 33 samples from 12 human cervical spines (15 ALL, 18 PLL), averaging data from the same donors for independent analysis, resulting in 18 final samples (8 ALL, 10 PLL). To explore age-related changes, we classified the samples into two groups—below and above 50 years old—aligning with the peak incidence of major musculoskeletal disorders. The investigation concentrated on the effects of age on four mechanical parameters of the uniaxial stress–stretch curve: initial tangent stiffness (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>E</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>0</mn></mrow></msub></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>), maximum tangent stiffness (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>E</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>m</mi></mrow></msub></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>), ultimate stress (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>P</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>u</mi></mrow></msub></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>) and ultimate stretch (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>λ</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>u</mi></mrow></msub></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>). When the age effect is neglected, then the behaviours of both the ALL and PLL appeared similar. However, when introducing age as a variable into the context of the ALL and PLL, statistically significant differences became evident. The findings underscored a reduction in maximum tangent stiffness (<i>p</i>-value = 0.0147), ultimate stress (<i>p</i>-value = 0.0009), and ultimate stretch (<i>p</i>-value = 0.0024) when the ALL and PLL were grouped under and above 50 years as a consequence of ageing.https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/12/1/61human cervical spineligamenttension testage-related changesbiomechanicsmechanobiology |
| spellingShingle | Narendra Singh Ana Trajkovski Jovan Trajkovski Robert Kunc Jose Felix Rodriguez Matas A Pilot Study on the Age-Dependent, Biomechanical Properties of Longitudinal Ligaments in the Human Cervical Spine Bioengineering human cervical spine ligament tension test age-related changes biomechanics mechanobiology |
| title | A Pilot Study on the Age-Dependent, Biomechanical Properties of Longitudinal Ligaments in the Human Cervical Spine |
| title_full | A Pilot Study on the Age-Dependent, Biomechanical Properties of Longitudinal Ligaments in the Human Cervical Spine |
| title_fullStr | A Pilot Study on the Age-Dependent, Biomechanical Properties of Longitudinal Ligaments in the Human Cervical Spine |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Pilot Study on the Age-Dependent, Biomechanical Properties of Longitudinal Ligaments in the Human Cervical Spine |
| title_short | A Pilot Study on the Age-Dependent, Biomechanical Properties of Longitudinal Ligaments in the Human Cervical Spine |
| title_sort | pilot study on the age dependent biomechanical properties of longitudinal ligaments in the human cervical spine |
| topic | human cervical spine ligament tension test age-related changes biomechanics mechanobiology |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/12/1/61 |
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