Fig. 2

The IVD stress profile along the sagittal midline diameter of the disc. The results were compared with the digitized curve from Skrzypiec et al. study [59]. The x-axis is the normalized length of the centerline, where x = 0 and 1 representing the posterior and anterior AF, respectively. In LE and HE models, the hydrostatic stress represented the IDP stress. S33: the compressive stress in the direction of the applied load