The effect of fluid loss on the viscoelastic behavior of the lumbar intervertebral disc in compression

A viscoelastic finite element model of a L2-L3 motion segment was constructed and used to study: (1) the behavior of the intervertebral disc with different amounts of nucleus fluid loss; and (2) the effect of different rates of fluid loss on the viscoelastic behavior of the disc. The results indicate that: (1) The viscoelastic behavior of the intervertebral disc depends to a large extent on the rate of fluid loss from the disc; the intrinsic properties of disc tissue play a role only at the early stage of compressive loading; (2) the axial strain increases, whereas the intradiscal pressure and the posterior radial disc bulge decrease with increasing fluid loss; (3) a decreasing fluid loss rate with a total fluid loss of 10 to 20 percent (from the nucleus) during the first hour of compressive loading best predicts the overall viscoelastic behavior of a disc.