Low back pain is a problem seen currently in the middle
and old age groups. Measurements of the lumbar lordosis are
useful in low back pain investigation. It is not obvious if the
lumbo-sacral curvature of the spine is changed with aging
and if sex has a role in its determination. Lateral radiographic
studies were done on the lumbo-sacral spines of 180 patients
(101 males and 79 females) aged 10-79 years selected from
patients undergoing diagnostic radiology for abdominal and
genito-urinary diseases. Measurements of: (1) lumbar
lordosis, (2) sacral curvature and (3) lumbo-sacral angle were
made directly from the lateral radiographs of the lumbosacral
spine and the average values were taken. Analysis of
the data obtained showed that all the three parameters
varied steadily with age. Females had greater angles more
than males. Sacral inclination appeared to be more important
determinant of lumbar lordosis. All the three parameters
showed a tendency to decrease after the 5th decade, except
the lunnbo-sacral angle which showed a steady increase up to
the 8th decade in females. The clinical significance of these
findings may be valuable in: (1) The age and sex-related |
