Effect of overload on changes in mechanical and structural properties of the annulus fibrosus of the intervertebral disc.

"Declarations Conflict of interestThe author declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. Conflict of interest The author declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper."

"The presented research is an innovative method of describing the effect of complex fatigue loading conditions and the effect of support on articular processes on the formation of pathological changes within the lumbar IVD. Simultaneously, it has been demonstrated that the resulting structural changes significantly affect the mechanical properties of the outer layers of the AF. Changes in the height of the IVD are not a sufficient parameter to confirm the assumption that just lowering the height can influence the formation of pathological changes in the internal structure of the IVD. Analysis of the mechanical parameters of the AF’s outer lamellae has shown that long-term cyclic loading significantly affects the obtained Young’s modulus and stiffness coefficient."