Dynamic dorsoventral stiffness assessment of the ovine lumbar spine

Posteroanterior spinal stiffness assessments are common in the evaluating patients with low back pain. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of mechanical excitation frequency on dynamic lumbar spine stiffness. A computer-controlled voice coil actuator equipped with a load cell and LVDT was used to deliver an oscillatory dorsoventral (DV) mechanical force to the L3 spinous process of 15 adolescent Merino sheep. DV forces (48 N peak, 10% body weight) were randomly applied at periodic excitation frequencies of 2.0, 6.0, 11.7 and a 0.5–19.7 Hz sweep. Force and displacement were recorded over a 13–22 s time interval. The in vivo DV stiffness of the ovine spine was frequency dependent and varied 3.7-fold over the 0.5–19.7 Hz mechanical excitation frequency range. Minimum and maximum DV stiffness (force/displacement) were 3.86±0.38 and 14.1±9.95 N/mm at 4.0 and 19.7 Hz, respectively. Stiffness values based on the swept-sine measurements were not significantly different from corresponding periodic oscillations (2.0 and 6.0 Hz). The mean coefficient of variation in the swept-sine DV dynamic stiffness assessment method was 15%, which was similar to the periodic oscillation method (10–16%). The results indicate that changes in mechanical excitation frequency and animal body mass modulate DV spinal stiffness.