TY - JOUR AU - Todd, Carl Martin AU - Agnvall, Cecilia AU - Kovac, Peter AU - Sward, Anna AU - Johansoon, Christer AU - Sward, Leif AU - Karlsson, Jon AU - Baranto, Adad PY - 2015/08/29 TI - Validation of spinal sagittal alignment with plain radiographs and the Debrunner Kyphometer JF - Medical Research Archives; Vol 2 No 1 (2015): October 1 - October 7 KW - Debrunner Kyphometer, kyphosis, lordosis, radiological, spinal sagittal alignment N2 - Validation of the Debrunner Kyphometer as a clinical non-radiological method for investigating spinal sagittal alignment was compared with standing lateral radiographs. The sample group ( n=102) consisted of elite Alpine skiers ( n=75) and a non-athletic population ( n =27), mean age 17.7 (±1.4) years. Non-radiological and radiological measurements of the spinal sagittal kyphosis and lordosis range of motion were carried out in the erect standing position. Thoracic kyphosis measurements comparing the Debrunner Kyphometer with a radiological standard, showed a good level of agreement and a statistical significance (ICC 0.67, 95% CI: 0.26 to 0.83, p<0.001). Lumbar lordosis measurements showed poor levels of agreement in spite of being statistically significant (ICC 0.33, 95% CI: 0.13 to 0.50, p=0.001). There was no significant difference reported in the spinal alignment between skiers and controls using both radiological and non-radiological methods. Therefore, we conclude that due to the large variation in ranges between both methods, there is a limited value in using the Debrunner Kyphometer as a non-invasive method for the evaluation of spinal sagittal alignment.   Key words : Debrunner Kyphometer, kyphosis, lordosis, radiological, spinal sagittal alignment.   UR - https://esmed.org/MRA/mra/article/view/319