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Kinematics of the Spine Under Healthy and Degenerative Conditions: A Systematic Review

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Abstract

Understanding spinal kinematics is essential, not only for the comprehension and diagnosis of spinal diseases, but also for improving modern tools and software. The sheer volume and complexity of now available information can be overwhelming. We aimed to distil it into a form that facilitates comparison among diverse studies addressing spinal kinematics under healthy and degenerative conditions. We specifically aimed to define a baseline definition of the spectrum of normal spinal kinematics that in turn allows a comparable definition of kinematics of the degenerative lumbar spine. The considered data was obtained by a systematic MEDLINE search including studies on angular/translational segmental motion contribution, range of motion, coupling and center of rotation. As for degenerative conditions, we collected publications on disc degeneration, facet joint osteoarthritis, facet joint tropism, spondylolisthesis, ligament degeneration and paraspinal muscle degeneration. While we could demonstrate repeating motion patterns for some topics, agreement in other fields is limited due to methodological variances and small sample sizes, particularly in publications with highly accurate but complex techniques. Besides, the high frequency of concurrent degenerative processes complicates the association between diseases and subsequent kinematical changes. Despite several substantial gaps, we stand at the precipice of technological breakthroughs that can power future large-scale studies.

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Abbreviations

AOR:

Axis of rotation

AR:

Axial rotation

COR:

Center of rotation

DD:

Disc degeneration

FE:

Flexion/extension

FJOA:

Facet joint osteoarthritis

FJT:

Facet joint tropism

FU:

Functional unit

IL:

Interspinous ligament

LB:

Lateral bending

LD:

Ligament degeneration

LF:

Ligamentum flavum

LFH:

Ligamentum flavum hypertrophy

NZ:

Neutral zone

OA:

Osteoarthritis

PMD:

Paraspinal muscle degeneration

ROM:

Range of motion

SL:

Spondylolisthesis

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Acknowledgment

The authors gratefully acknowledge Maria-Rosa Fasser’s contribution in editorial assistance.

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  1. Department of Orthopaedics, Balgrist University Hospital, Forchstrasse 340, 8008, Zurich, Switzerland

    Jonas Widmer, Paolo Fornaciari, Marco Senteler, Tabitha Roth, Jess G. Snedeker & Mazda Farshad

  2. Institute of Biomechanics, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Jonas Widmer, Marco Senteler, Tabitha Roth & Jess G. Snedeker

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Appendix

Appendix

(Angular/Translational) Segmental Motion Contribution

See Fig. 12 and Table 1.

Figure 12
figure 12

Search strategy for studies on segmental motion contribution.

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Table 1 Results of the search for literature on segmental motion contribution.
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Maximal Range of Motion

See Fig. 13 and Table 2.

Figure 13
figure 13

Search strategy for studies on maximal range of motion.

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Table 2 Results of the search for literature on maximal range of motion.
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Coupling

See Fig. 14 and Table 3.

Figure 14
figure 14

Search strategy for studies on coupled motion.

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Table 3 Results of the search for literature on coupled motion.
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Center of Rotation

See Fig. 15 and Table 4.

Figure 15
figure 15

Search strategy for studies on the center of rotation.

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Table 4 Results of the search for literature on the center of rotation.
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Phase Lag

See Fig. 16 and Table 5.

Figure 16
figure 16

Search strategy for studies on phase lag.

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Table 5 Results of the search for literature on phase lag.
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Disc Degeneration

Mechanical Stiffness

See Fig. 17 and Table 6.

Figure 17
figure 17

Search strategy for studies on disc degeneration and mechanical stiffness of the tissue.

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Table 6 Results of the search for literature on disc degeneration and mechanical stiffness of the tissue.
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Segmental and overall ROM

See Fig. 18 and Tables 7 and 8.

Figure 18
figure 18

Search strategy for studies on spinal ROM and disc degeneration.

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Table 7 Results of the search for literature on spinal ROM and disc degeneration.
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Table 8 Dotted lines → neutral zone?).
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Facet Joint Osteoarthrosis

See Fig. 19 and Table 9.

Figure 19
figure 19

Search strategy for studies on spinal ROM and facet joint osteoarthrosis.

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Table 9 Results of the search for literature on spinal ROM and facet joint osteoarthrosis.
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Facet Joint Tropism

See Fig. 20 and Table 10.

Figure 20
figure 20

Search strategy for studies on spinal ROM and facet joint tropism.

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Table 10 Results of the search for literature on spinal ROM and facet joint tropism.
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Spondylolisthesis

See Fig. 21 and Table 11.

Figure 21
figure 21

Search strategy for studies on spinal ROM and spondylolisthesis.

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Table 11 Results of the search for literature on spinal ROM and spondylolisthesis.
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Ligament Degeneration

See Fig. 22 and Table 12.

Figure 22
figure 22

Search strategy for studies on spinal ROM and ligament degeneration.

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Table 12 Results of the search for literature on spinal ROM and ligament degeneration.
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Paraspinal Muscle Degeneration

See Fig. 23 and Table 13.

Figure 23
figure 23

Search strategy for studies on spinal ROM and paraspinal muscle degeneration.

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Table 13 Results of the search for literature on spinal ROM and paraspinal muscle degeneration.
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Widmer, J., Fornaciari, P., Senteler, M. et al. Kinematics of the Spine Under Healthy and Degenerative Conditions: A Systematic Review. Ann Biomed Eng 47, 1491–1522 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-019-02252-x

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