Spine Biomechanics

Low back pain is among the most common musculoskeletal pathologies, and the mechanism by which it becomes a chronic condition is still not well understood. Better patho-anatomical evaluation is thus necessary to improve diagnosis and decisions on the most appropriate treatment. More accurate evaluation is also critical to improve our understanding of this condition and refine or design new treatments.

A consistent set of recent findings suggest that the biomechanical models frequently used to analyze spine kinematics could be a limiting factor in scientific research and clinical diagnosis. Specially, literature suggests analyzing spine biomechanics with more precise multi-segment models. The SBML is working on a project aiming to evaluate the regional differences in spinal kinematics between healthy subjects and low back pain patients. This research is expected to result in more precise functional assessment tools and to improve treatment strategies.

Examples of marker placement for a multi-segment analysis of spine biomechanics.