Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 5, 2026
07:44
Evaluation of Patients' Posture and Gait Profile After Lumbar Fusion Surgery by Video Rasterstereography and Treadmill Gait Analysis
Published on: March 23, 2019
Lumbar lordosis measurement. A new method versus Cobb technique
K V Chernukha1, R H Daffner, D H Reigel
1Department of Neurosurgery, Allegheny University of the Health Sciences, Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Spine
|February 14, 1998
Summary
The lumbar lordotic curve develops nonlinearly, with significant increases in the first year and puberty, reaching a plateau around 50 degrees. A new tangential radiologic assessment method proved more reliable than the Cobb technique for measuring this spinal curve.
Area of Science:
- Orthopedics
- Radiology
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Lack of consensus on normal lumbar lordotic curve range among spine physicians.
- Changes in lordotic curve can indicate neurological symptoms in conditions like tethered spinal cord.
- Accurate measurements are crucial for early diagnosis and management of spinal conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the magnitude and rate of normal lumbar lordotic curve development with age.
- To compare the reliability of two measurement techniques for the lumbar lordotic curve.
Main Methods:
- Historic cross-sectional study of 199 healthy individuals aged 1-30 years.
- Lumbar lordotic curve measured using the traditional Cobb technique and tangential radiologic assessment of lumbar lordosis (TRAL).
- Morgan-Pitman test used to assess the reliability of the two measurement methods.
Main Results:
- The development of the lumbar lordotic curve is nonlinear, with increases during infancy and puberty, plateauing around 50 degrees at maturity.
- The tangential radiologic assessment of lumbar lordosis (TRAL) method demonstrated higher reproducibility and reliability.
- TRAL provided a smaller range of normal values compared to the Cobb method.
Conclusions:
- The lumbar lordotic curve's development follows a nonlinear pattern, reaching maturity around 50 degrees.
- Tangential radiologic assessment of lumbar lordosis is a more reliable and reproducible method for measuring the lumbar lordotic curve.
- This improved measurement accuracy can aid in the early detection of spinal abnormalities.
