Intervertebral Disc High Impact Loading

Naval Special Warfare (NSW) personnel are exposed to repeated shocks during operation of their high speed craft.  Over time, this repeated loading results in back pain and intervertebral disc degeneration for the personnel.  There is a lack of detailed understanding of impact loads on the mechanical behavior of intervertebral discs.  More information of disc biomechanics will aid in an effort to better refine ISO Standard 2631 Part 5 to better reflect conditions of special operations units serving on high speed crafts.   This project is intended to provide information on the mechanical behavior and failure analysis of intervertebral discs subjected to high impact loading.