Viscoelastic properties of the human lumbodorsal fascia

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to provide better understanding of the mechanical response of the lumbodorsal fascia to dynamic and static traction loadings. Since the fascia shows a viscoelastic behaviour, tests in which time is a variable were used, namely hysteresis and stress relaxation. Load-strain and load-time curves obtained from the hysteresis and stress-relaxation tests point out three different phenomena. First, an increase in stiffness is noticed when ligaments are successively stretched, i.e. strains produced by successive and identical loads decrease. Second, if a sufficient resting period is allowed between loadings, stiffening is reversed and strains tend to recover initial values. The third phenomenon, observed in stress-relaxation tests as time progresses, is ligament contraction in stretched and isometrically held samples. This third phenomenon may be explained by the possibility that muscle fibres capable of contracting spontaneously could be present in lumbodorsal fascia ligaments.