Study of deformation behavior of the intervertebral disc with the slope of cervical spine segment

The article describes the model of the cervical spine segment (C3-C4) and the results of calculating the deformation behavior of the intervertebral disc taking into account its degenerative changes. The segment model is based on the experimental data considering the presence of cortical and cancellous bone tissue of vertebral bodies. Modeling of degenerative changes of the intervertebral disc have been carried out by reducing the height of the disc and increasing its modulus of elasticity, which in reality is observed as a result of water content decrease in the disk. The construction of the geometric model of the cervical spine segment and the calculations of the stress-strain state were carried out in the ANSYS software complex. The calculation results show that the greatest protrusion of the intervertebral disc is observed when its height is reduced. The values of disk displacements reduce with the increasing of elastic modulus.