Spine Sagittal Balance

Excerpt

The spine and the body function within a cone of equilibrium with the focus of maintaining sagittal and coronal alignment with minimum energy expenditure. This happens with a harmonious relationship involving cervical lordosis, thoracic kyphosis, lumbar lordosis, and pelvic anatomy. The purpose is mostly to maintain a mechanical balance in the sagittal plane and coronal plane centered from the center of cranial mass, femoral heads, and lower extremities. Traditional scoliosis or spinal deformity surgery focused on coronal plane alignment. While the coronal plane is important, multiple studies have shown that restoring the balance in this plane confers more clinical relevance in terms of function and pain than in the coronal plane in deformity correction surgery.