Analysis of cervical spine alignment in currently asymptomatic individuals: prevalence of kyphotic posture and its relationship with other spinopelvic parameters
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 22, 2026
Evaluation of Patients' Posture and Gait Profile After Lumbar Fusion Surgery by Video Rasterstereography and Treadmill Gait Analysis
Published on: March 23, 2019
Seok Woo Kim1, Tae-Hwan Kim1, Do Hee Bok2
1Spine Center, Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University, 896 Pyeongchon-dong, Dongan-gu, Anyang-si, Gyeonggi-do 431-070, Republic of Korea; Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University, 896 Pyeongchon-dong, Dongan-gu, Anyang-si, Gyeonggi-do 431-070, Republic of Korea.
Background Context:
Many studies tend to characterize cervical kyphosis as a significant clinical condition that needs to be treated. Moreover, opinions vary on whether cervical kyphosis should be considered a pathologic status or a natural occurrence in asymptomatic people.
Purpose:
This study aimed to determine the frequency of kyphotic posture of the cervical spine in currently asymptomatic individuals and to ascertain its relation with other spinopelvic parameters.
Study Design:
A cross-sectional radiographic study was carried out.
Patient Sample:
This study targeted 1,026 currently asymptomatic adult volunteers who agreed to participate in this study from January 2010 to March 2016. Only 958 were eligible for the study.
Outcome Measures:
Radiographic images, including the C-spine dynamic view and whole-spine lateral view, were measured. The sagittal parameters of the cervical spine and other parts of the spine and pelvis, such as the C2-C7 angle, C0-C2 range of motion (ROM), C2-C7 ROM, and C0-C7 ROM, thoracic kyphosis, lumbar lordosis, sacral slope, pelvic tilt, and pelvic incidence, were measured.
Methods:
Based on the C-spine neutral lateral X-ray, a C2-C7 Cobb angle greater than 0 degree was defined as lordosis and an angle less than 0 degree was defined as kyphosis. Patients who showed kyphosis were further classified into the reducible or non-reducible group, depending on the ability of recovering neck motions (lordosis) in extension. The cervical and other global spine parameters between the two groups were analyzed, and the relation between the cervical alignment and other parts of the spine and pelvis were also examined. This study was not supported by any funding and had no conflicts of interest.
Results:
Nearly one-fourth of the asymptomatic participants (26.3%) have kyphotic cervical posture, and almost one-sixth of the kyphotic individuals (16.7%) have non-reducible kyphosis. The prevalence increases with advanced age; non-reducible cases are mostly kyphotic, kyphosis stems from the C2-C7 region, and kyphosis is not correlated with any of the radiological parameters of the other parts of the spine except lumbar lordosis.
Conclusions:
Cervical kyphosis can be observed in normal healthy adults.
Related Concept Videos
01:16Vertebral Column: Regions and Curvature
Regions of the Vertebral Column
In an adult, the spine is subdivided into five regions: the cervical, the thoracic, the lumbar, the sacral, and the coccygeal region. The spine initially develops as a series of 33 vertebrae; after 20 years of age, the nine bones in the sacral region, five sacral, and four coccygeal bones fuse to form...
01:11Anatomical Positions
The body is upright, facing forward, and standing erect.
The feet are parallel and flat on the floor.
The arms are hanging by the...
01:28Articulations of the Vertebral Column