Percutaneous Cement Discoplasty has recently been developed to relieve pain in highly degenerated intervertebral discs presenting a vacuum phenomenon in patients that cannot undergo major surgery. Little is currently known about the biomechanical effects of discoplasty. This study aimed at investigating the feasibility of modelling empty discs and subsequent discoplasty surgery and measuring their impact over the specimen geometry and mechanical behaviour. Ten porcine lumbar spine segments were tested in flexion, extension, and lateral bending under 5.4 Nm (with a 200 N compressive force and a 27 mm offset). Tests were performed in three conditions for each specimen: with intact disc, after nucleotomy and after discoplasty. A 3D Digital Image Correlation (DIC) system was used to measure the surface displacements and strains. The posterior disc height, range of motion (ROM), and stiffness were measured at the peak load. CT scans were performed to confirm that the cement distribution was acceptable. Discoplasty recovered the height loss caused by nucleotomy (p = 0.04) with respect to the intact condition, but it did not impact significantly either the ROM or the stiffness. The strains over the disc surface increased after nucleotomy, while discoplasty concentrated the strains on the endplates. In conclusion, this preliminary study has shown that discoplasty recovered the intervertebral posterior height, opening the neuroforamen as clinically observed, but it did not influence the spine mobility or stiffness. This study confirms that this in vitro approach can be used to investigate discoplasty.

经皮骨水泥椎间盘成形术最近被开发用于缓解高度退化的椎间盘的疼痛，该椎间盘在不能接受大手术的患者中呈现真空现象。目前对椎间盘成形术的生物力学影响知之甚少。本研究旨在调查模拟空椎间盘和随后的椎间盘成形术的可行性，并测量它们对标本几何形状和机械行为的影响。10 个猪腰椎节段在 5.4 Nm（200 N 压缩力和 27 mm 偏移）下进行屈曲、伸展和侧弯测试。每个标本在三种条件下进行测试：椎间盘完整、核切开术后和椎间盘成形术后。3D 数字图像相关 (DIC) 系统用于测量表面位移和应变。在峰值负荷时测量后椎间盘高度、运动范围 (ROM) 和刚度。进行 CT 扫描以确认水泥分布是可接受的。Discoplasty 恢复了核切开术引起的高度损失（p  = 0.04) 相对于完整条件，但它没有显着影响 ROM 或刚度。核切除术后椎间盘表面的应变增加，而椎间盘成形术将应变集中在终板上。总之，这项初步研究表明，椎间盘成形术恢复了椎间后高，如临床观察到的那样打开了神经孔，但它不影响脊柱活动度或刚度。这项研究证实，这种体外方法可用于研究椎间盘成形术。