Abstract
Human lumbar vertebrae support the weight of the upper body. Loads lifted and carried by the upper extremities cause significant loading stress to the vertebral bodies. It is well established that trauma-induced vertebral fractures are common especially among elderly people. The aim of this study was to investigate the morphological factors that could have affected the prevalence of trauma-related vertebral fractures from medieval times to the present day. To determine if morphological differences existed in the size and shape of the vertebral body between medieval times and the present day, the vertebral body size and shape was measured from the 4th lumbar vertebra using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and standard osteometric calipers. The modern samples consisted of modern Finns and the medieval samples were from archaeological collections in Sweden and Britain. The results show that the shape and size of the 4th lumbar vertebra has changed significantly from medieval times in a way that markedly affects the biomechanical characteristics of the lumbar vertebral column. These changes may have influenced the incidence of trauma- induced spinal fractures in modern populations.
Highlights
Osteoporosis-related fractures are an increasingly common problem for developed world healthcare
Historical and archeological evidence for osteoporosis has been investigated in several studies and bone fragility has been examined through several aspects such as bone geometry, trabecular structure and bone mineral density [1,2,3]
Increase in the mean stature from observed medieval =171.0 cm and R158.2 cm to modern =182.7 cm and R165.5 cm [24] would explain the chronological difference in vertebral height as changes in vertebral height and stature are positively correlated in study populations (R = .696)
Summary
Osteoporosis-related fractures are an increasingly common problem for developed world healthcare. Historical and archeological evidence for osteoporosis has been investigated in several studies and bone fragility has been examined through several aspects such as bone geometry, trabecular structure and bone mineral density [1,2,3]. Low energy vertebral crush fractures are the most typical clinical expression of osteoporosis. Reduction in vertebral height by 20% is considered to indicate spine fracture [5] and this value is used for assessing osteoporosis from archaeological vertebrae. Low energy spine fractures are common in both elderly men and women, postmenopausal women being the group that is most at risk [6,7,8]
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