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Lumbar lordosis in osteoporosis and in osteoarthritis

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Abstract

The curvature of the lumbar spine and the risk of developing either osteoporosis (OP) or osteoarthritis (OA) are influenced by many common factors. The aim of this study is to determine whether lumbar lordosis is different between patients with either disease and healthy persons. A cross-sectional, blinded, controlled design was implemented. One hundred and twelve postmenopausal women were evaluated for bone mineral density as well as undergoing spinal radiography. Lordosis measurement was performed with Cobb’s method. The sample was divided in four groups: patients with OP (n = 34, L1–L5 = 40.7°, L1–S1 = 54.1°), patients with OA (n = 29, L1–L5 = 38°, L1–S1 = 52.3°), patients with both diseases (n = 20, L1–L5 = 41.8°, L1–S1 = 52.3°) and controls (n = 29, L1–L5 = 38.6°, L1–S1 = 51.8°). For all participants age, height, weight, body mass index, physical activity level and basal metabolic rate were measured and recorded. The results revealed that although the four groups have significant constitutional differences, lumbar lordosis was comparable between them. The reasons for the lack of association are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This study has been supported by the PENED 2003 program under grant 03ΕΔ966, co-funded by, the European Union—European Social Fund 75%, the Greek State—Ministry of Development—General Secretariat of Research and Technology 25%, and a private sector. In the framework of Measure 8.3 of the Operational Program “Competitiveness”—3rd Community Support Framework, The study protocol was approved by the ethics committee of the University of Crete, Faculty of Medicine.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece

    Michael Papadakis, Konstantinos Stergiopoulos & Pavlos Katonis

  2. Institute of Applied and Computational Mathematics, Foundation for Research and Technology- Hellas (IACM-FORTH), PO Box 1385, 71110, Heraklion, Crete, Greece

    Michael Papadakis & Nikos Kampanis

  3. Department of Orthopedics, University Hospital of Heraklion, Heraklion, Crete, Greece

    Georgios Papadokostakis

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  1. Michael Papadakis
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Correspondence to Michael Papadakis.

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Papadakis, M., Papadokostakis, G., Stergiopoulos, K. et al. Lumbar lordosis in osteoporosis and in osteoarthritis. Eur Spine J 18, 608–613 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-008-0846-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-008-0846-z

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