Quantitative assessment of the sagittal and coronal balance of the axial skeleton using 3D motion capture

Introduction Sagittal and coronal balance of the body cannot be evaluated with the modern programs for musculoskeletal assessment using 3D motion capture and additional software operations are required for the measurements. The objective was to review information capacity and comparability of the quantitative assessments of the dynamic axial balance of the body using radiography and 3D gait analysis. Material and methods Comparative analysis of the information capacity of sagittal and coronal balance using radiographs and 3D gait analysis was performed in adolescents without orthopedic pathology (n = 12); untreated patients with idiopathic scoliosis (n = 53); patients with degenerative disorders of the spine (n = 15). Results Axial balance identified with 3D gait analysis showed dynamic measurements and depended on the posture during recording. There were no significant differences in the balance measurements in the samples in comparison with radiological findings with the medians being almost identical. Correlations between the balances were statistically significant in patients with degenerative disorders of the spine without clinical manifestations and in patients with idiopathic scoliosis without pain, and were not significant in patients with clinical and antalgic manifestations of vertebral pathology. Discussion Absence of statistically significant differences and close central trends in the samples indicated the comparability of the measurements in general population due to sagittal and coronal balance measured in the same patients, at different time points, in different postures and by different methods. However, significant differences in variation and a statistically significant effect of antalgic manifestations on the strength of correlation suggested that the dynamic balance measured with 3D gait analysis were more sensitive and informative to pathogenetic symptoms. Conclusions Algorithms for measurements of the axial balance using 3D gait analysis were comparable with radiographic findings and were much more informative and sensitive to antalgic manifestations of spinal pathology.