Comportement mécanique du rachis cervical : une revue de littérature

Cervical spine is certainly the most complex joint. Biomechanics behaviours of this segment coming from different authors are related in this article. Cervical spine can be divided in two parts: upper cervical spine from occiput to C2 and lower cervical spine from C3 to C7. In vitro biomechanical study shows a strongly non linear behaviour. 60% of the motion of the whole segment takes place at the upper cervical from occiput to C2. Coupling motions are significant, principally in lateral bending and axial rotation. On top of that authors describe a neutral zone with a very little stifness at the center of the behaviour graph. This area represents 60% of whole motion of each intervetebral joint. Finally, authors describe a loss of mobility of 40% with ageing. However weigth and size seem to be non significant on the mechanical behaviour of cervical spine.