Journal of Emergency Practice and Trauma

Impact of thoracic kyphosis and lumbar lordosis changes on axial spine pain intensity: An epidemiological study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Amir Aghaei Aghdam 1
Ramin Askarinejad 1
Amin Jahad Sarvestani 2

1 Department of Orthopedics, Golestan Teaching Hospital, Ahvaz University of Medical Science, Ahvaz, Iran

2 Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran

https://doi.org/Doi:10.34172/jept.2025.09
Abstract
Objective: Adult spinal deformity is a common public health issue worldwide caused by changes in the normal curves of the spine, at times leading to axial spine pain. This study measures changes in the normal curves of the spine, especially thoracic kyphosis and lumbar lordosis, and correlates them with subjective axial pain scores to find how anatomic changes in thoracic and lumbar curves relate to the subjective pain.
Methods: This is a descriptive-analytical epidemiological study conducted in Ahvaz Golestan Hospital. In this study, 52 patients were selected by non-randomized convenience sampling of patients with axial spine pain referred to Golestan Hospital between October 2023 and June 2024. Thoracic kyphosis and lumbar lordosis were detected in the selected patients using long-standing radiographs. Then, using pelvic incidence, ΔTK and ΔLL were calculated, and their relation to axial spine pain was studied. We used the Pearson correlation coefficient to examine the relation between spine-related measurements and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores. The distribution of the changes followed a normal distribution (Gaussian distribution) pattern, so Pearson correlation coefficient was employed.
Results: On average, lumbar lordosis in these people showed a mean decrease of 10 degrees compared to normal lumbar lordosis, and average thoracic kyphosis showed a mean increase of 15 degrees compared to the normal thoracic kyphosis. In the study of the global pain scale and comparing the intensity of pain with changes in thoracic kyphosis (ΔTK) and lumbar lordosis (ΔLL), axial pain was most associated with changes in thoracic kyphosis (ΔTK) (P < 0.001).
Conclusion: In the treatment of axial spine pain, the intensity of pain is more related to changes in thoracic kyphosis rather than lumbar lordosis. This can help researchers to propose further studies on correcting thoracic kyphosis to obtain better axial spine pain relief.

Keywords

Thoracic kyphosis
Lumbar lordosis
Axial spine pain
Subjects
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Journal of Emergency Practice and Trauma
Volume 10, Issue 1
January 2024
Pages 33-37

  • Receive Date 26 February 2025
  • Revise Date 27 March 2025
  • Accept Date 20 April 2025

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