title: Lumbar degenerative kyphosis. Clinical, radiological and epidemiological studies.
abstract: We suggest that lumbar degenerative kyphosis be included as one of the abnormal sagittal curvatures in which a kyphosis or a marked loss of lordosis is seen in the lumbar spine, caused by degenerative changes in middle-aged and elderly. One hundred and five consecutive patients were investigated, most of whom complained of low-back pain, often with a long history. They all walked in a forward bending posture, either all the time or only when exhausted. In roentgenograms, most cases showed a marked loss of the sacral inclination, as well as multiple disc narrowing and/or vertebral wedging in the lumbar region. These subjects showed a definite weakness of the lumbar extensors compared to the flexors, and therefore a reversed ratio of extensors/flexors muscle power compared with normal controls and other types of spinal curvatures. Weakness of the lumbar extensors was clearly shown by isokinetic measurement and a marked atrophy of these muscles with fatty infiltration was demonstrated by CT scanning.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Asahikawa Medical College, Hokkaido, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takemitsu
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Harada
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iwahara
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miyamoto
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Miyatake
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology*; D001416:Back Pain / Q000209:etiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D007738:Kyphosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D009119:Muscle Contraction; D009132:Muscles / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011859:Radiography