Clinical biomechanics
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Clinical biomechanics · Dec 1996
Precision measurement of segmental motion from flexion-extension radiographs of the lumbar spine.
To measure sagittal plane motion of lumbar vertebrae from lateral radiographic views. Previously identified factors of imprecision such as distortion in central projection, off-centre position, axial rotation, and lateral tilt of the spine were compensated. STUDY DESIGN: This study presents a new protocol to measure sagittal plane rotational and translational motion from lateral flexion-extension radiographs of the lumbar spine. ⋯ The results of this study show that precision of the measurement of rotational and translational motion can be considerably enhanced by making allowance for radiographic distortional effects and by minimizing subjective influence in the measurement procedure.