Date of Award
8-2017
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Committee Member
Dr. Guigen Zhang
Committee Member
Dr. Jiro Nagatomi
Committee Member
Dr. Delphine Dean
Abstract
Thoracic kyphosis is the mid-sagittal misalignment in the human thoracic spine. Occurring in both adults and children, this spinal deformity is caused by the likes of poor posture, genetics, osteoporosis and intervertebral disc degeneration. This disease results in the patient having a rounded or hump back appearance causing strain on muscles, internal organs and improper walking gate. Corrections for this condition involve surgical implantation of metallic hardware to straighten the patient's posture. However, this treatment does not come without its own drawbacks such as a retrogressive forward head posture (FHP) which can occur post-surgery. With the assistance of computer aided design and finite element analysis, we propose to link the cause of FHP to the surgical realignment of the thoracic spine.
Recommended Citation
Carter, Jaylin M., "Analyzing the Biomechanical Nature of Thoracic Kyphosis and Other Mid-Sagittal Spinal Deformities Using Finite Element Analysis" (2017). All Theses. 2725.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_theses/2725