Three-dimensional curvature and kinematic analysis of the human spine

The purpose of this study was to develop a methodology to quantify spinal curvature and kinematics by using a video camera motion analysis technique. The space curvature and torsion, the projection figures and the three-dimensional angles provided the spinal curvature information. The kinematic analysis included the gross motion of thoracic spine, lumbar spine, and thoracic cage. One normal young male subject performing four static voluntary conditions for spinal curvature analysis and three dynamic voluntary conditions for spinal kinematic analysis. The angles of each point were reproducible and provided the pattern of curvature along the spine. The space curvature and torsion were not as reproducible due to the fact that these parameters combine the information from all three directions. Coupling of motion in thoracic and lumbar spine has been found for the axial rotation condition and also matched the range of motion with other studies. It was concluded that the methodology developed in this work is valuable since it is simple in testing, fast in data analysis, commercially available, noninvasive, and produced useful results.