Functional construction of the sacroiliac ligamentous apparatus.

The sacroiliac ligamentous apparatus was examined as a part of a biomechanical pelvis-lower extremities system. The ligamentous apparatus of two pelves was freed, and the findings concerning the ligaments and their direction were drawn by a modular constructed, three-dimensional calculator model of the pelvic region. The ligamentous apparatus of the sacroiliac joint belongs to a functional system. Its task is to minimize every movement in this amphiarthrosis. The ligamentous apparatus shows an adaptation to strong or long-time-acting stresses. The junction between the os sacrum, pelvis and the ligamentous apparatus of the sacroiliac joint can be described as self-tightening. Local stresses are also reduced by the ligaments. A loosening in this system, which has to fix the os sacrum to the pelvic girdle, leads to a static insufficiency. The consequence is pain due to an irritation of the lumbosacral trunk. The exact description of the structure allows a representation according to the laws of similarity mechanics. With such a representation one can build up a computer-aided biomechanical model of the pelvis-lower extremities region. Examples for such a model are biomechanical finite-element models. By observing the laws of similarity mechanics (an exact description of geometric, physical and functional conditions) an efficient biomechanical model can be constructed that also takes into consideration the complex functional circumstances, in contrast to previous models. In order to construct such a model, one has to feed the findings of the examination into a data bank, which has to be demanded.