A University of Cincinnati (UC) neurosurgeon who has spent his career helping people with severe spine problems stand up straight has spearheaded the creation of a new spinal deformity classification system.
The system, published this fall in the journal Neurosurgery, defines deformity in relation to the healthy, normal curve of the spine.
"What we've done is define spinal deformity and its manifestations throughout the course of a lifetime, based on a systematic approach to the spine, from the head to the pelvis," says Charles Kuntz IV, MD, an associate professor in UC's neurosurgery department and director of the division of spine and peripheral nerve surgery at the UC Neuroscience Institute. "Defining deformity with this degree of precision allows us to provide optimal treatment."
Kuntz, who practices at the Mayfield Clinic, and his co-authors defined spinal deformity by synthesizing published literature that describes normal neutral upright spinal alignment in asymptomatic juvenile, adolescent, adult and geriatric volunteers. The researchers used a total of 38 angles and displacements to define neutral upright spinal alignment, compiling their data over a period of five years.
The spine is a "dynamic organ that changes during the course of a lifetime," Kuntz says, with normal curves increasing with age.