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Tensile Test of Human Lumbar Ligamentum Flavum: Age-Related Changes of Stiffness

Authors :
Atsushi Mihara
Norihiro Nishida
Fei Jiang
Junji Ohgi
Yasuaki Imajo
Hidenori Suzuki
Masahiro Funaba
Hiroki Yamagata
Xian Chen
Takashi Sakai
Source :
Applied Sciences, Vol 11, Iss 8, p 3337 (2021)
Publication Year :
2021
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2021.

Abstract

The most common cause of lumbar spinal canal stenosis is age-related degenerative changes. The ligamentum flavum is said to become thicker and stiffer with age, based on several histological and cadaver studies. However, there are no studies determining the age-related changes of the mechanical properties of the ligamentum flavum in live patients. We examined the mechanical properties of the ligamentum flavum of live patients and evaluated the age-related changes. A total of 44 patients undergoing decompression surgery due to lumbar disease at our institute were included. The ligamentum flavum was harvested from the decompression site as a part of a necessary procedure for decompression. The tensile test was performed for the harvested ligamentum flavum within 24 h of harvest. Age-related changes in the stiffness of the ligamentum flavum were evaluated. Age was the only factor that showed a significant correlation with stiffness on multiple regression analysis. We demonstrated that the mechanical properties of the ligamentum flavum change with age.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20763417
Volume :
11
Issue :
8
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Applied Sciences
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.b2188fb1239244cbb78600a34091e361
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/app11083337