Reciprocal Angulation of Vertebral Bodies in a Sagittal Plane: Approach to References for the Evaluation of Kyphosis and Lordosis

TLDR

The study aimed to create a sagittal‑plane curve reference table for standing subjects by establishing an easily reproducible standard posture. Using 100 healthy adults aged 20–29, the authors measured reciprocal vertebral angulations with a digitalizer and computer analysis, focusing on maximum kyphosis, maximum lordosis, sacral base slopes, and intermediate vertebral body tilt. Results revealed a wide, irregular dispersion of values, making averages unsuitable as norms, while only the extreme limits effectively indicate excessive, insufficient, or inverted curves.

Abstract

In order to establish a sagittal plane curve reference table for standing subjects examined laterally, we determined an easily reproducible standard posture. A sample of 100 healthy subjects from 20 to 29 years of age, was chosen (43 women, 57 men). The reciprocal angulations of each vertebral body in relation to the others were fed into a digitalizer and studied by computer. The study particularly concerns maximum kyphosis, maximum lordosis, sacral base slopes, and the tilt of intermediate vertebral bodies. The dispersion of the results is remarkably wide and, within the extreme values, the distribution is irregular. Individual correlations of these values are often dispersed, but spinal morphotypology. For considerable lengths, average values cannot be used as norms, given the wide span of values. Only the extreme limits are useful for the appreciation of curves as excessive, insufficient, or inverted.