sagittal balance
A key factor correlated with pain, disability and poor health status scores
Sagittal imbalance is a front-to-back imbalance in the spine. Normally, the spine has three gentle front-to-back curves. The lumbar lordosis, the thoracic kyphosis and the cervical lordosis. These curves work in harmony to keep the body’s center of gravity aligned over the hips and pelvis. However, if one of these curves becomes either too pronounced or too flat, the spine will be out of balance.
Positive Negative
CTR Tension type CTR Compression type
Back pain originating from spinal sagittal imbalance is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Sagittal balance is a complex entity that up until now only has been assessed radiographically. Manual therapists are not always familiar with the definition of sagittal balance. Spinal surgeons use a variety of geometric evaluations of angels related to different anatomical landmarks in the assessment of sagittal balance.
