'Stress-modulated growth' and the progression of scoliosis

This paper presents a mathematical simulation of the experimental work by M ente et al. [1], who reported that vertebrae in a rat tail with an imposed 30 degrees Cobb curve, axially loaded with 60% bodyweight, developed an ave rage wedge angle after 6 weeks of 13.5 degrees +/- 6.1 degrees. In this pap er, the forces on these vertebral physes are analyzed in terms of the stres s distribution across the physes, and using published data for rat tail ver tebrae growth sensitivity to stress [2], the rate of vertebral wedging duri ng growth was estimated. It was found that mechanical modulation of growth (the 'Hueter-Volkmann Law') could quantitatively explain the progression of the vertebral wedge deformity in the experimental Fail model.