Applying bone-adaptive remodelling theory to ligamentous spine. Preliminary results of partial nucleotomy and stabilization

Remodelling theory is applied to show that a vertebral body of a spinal motion segment is an optimum structure. Then, the study is extended to analyze the changes in the shape of the vertebral bodies due to an "injury" to the disc and then the stabilization of the injured motion segment using a rigid fixation device. The salient finding of this study is the demonstration that it is feasible to quantify changes in the spinal structures following surgery. However, keeping in mind the complex nature of the spinal structures, the limitations inherent in this study, and the assumption made for the bone adaptive remodelling theory, one needs to very systematically increase the complexity of the spinal model, and also initiate in parallel experimental studies delineating the remodelling aspects of the spinal structures.<>