Time varying modulators of spine injury mechanics and material properties of the intervertebral disc

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Globally, the World Health Organization has deemed low back pain one of the top three occupational health problems. Eighty percent of the population will suffer from low back pain at some point in their life making low back pain the most prevalent and costly musculoskeletal problem affecting the general population of Canada. Evidence suggests that the primary cause of low back pain is through mechanical exposure associated with everyday activities and industrial tasks. The overall objective of this research program is to determine the role of daily loading exposures in the generation of low back tissue damage and pain. The causes of injury initiation and progression in the structures of the spine (e.g. the intervertebral disc), associated with repetitive exposure will be investigated. It is critical to develop a solid understanding of the material properties of the intervertebral disc and the injury mechanisms associated with mechanical loading, as the biological repair mechanisms in the intervertebral disc are slow due to the lack of blood supply to this structure. The ability of the spinal tissues to repair themselves can be easily outpaced by injury deterioration once the first stage of an injury to the intervertebral disc has occurred. The outcomes from this research will provide time dependent tissue material properties that are currently unavailable and are a limiting factor in the understanding and modeling of the intervertebral and low back injuries. Ultimately, the linking of cumulative or repetitive exposure to potential pain generation would be a powerful contribution in developing methods to assess daily loading and set threshold limits or exposure standards to prevent injuries.