A Radiographic Study of Lumbo-Sacral Angle and Its Correlation with Gender & BMI in North Indian Population

Abstract

Objectives: The lumbo-sacral region is the most important region of the vertebral column in terms of its mobility and weight-bearing function. Measurement of geometrical angles is used to evaluate the stability of this region. There is relative paucity of such data for the North Indian population. We attempted to study the various angles in the lumbo-sacral region in the North Indian population.

Methods: This was a retrospective study in which digital radiographs (lateral view) of the lumbo sacral spine in 500 subjects with low back pain were evaluated. Patients with history of trauma or radiographically detected bony spinal abnormality were excluded. The lumbo-sacral angle (LSA) was measured using the RaDiant Dicom Viewer Software. The demographic parameters were also recorded.

Results: The mean value of lumbo-sacral angle in the whole population was found to be 37.7⁰±8.8⁰. The mean value of lumbo-sacral angle in females was significantly higher than the males. The lumbo-sacral angle is influenced by BMI but no significant result was found.

Conclusion: The mean values of lumbo-sacral angle may form the reference values for the North Indian population. Results of the present study show variability when compared to other similar studies, which further strengthen the fact that normal variation in lumbo-sacral angle differs among different region and races; hence results of the present study may be of use to health care providers for treating different spinal disorders of north Indian population.