October 2001

European Spine Journal to Publish CBP® Research Project

By Donald D. Harrison, PhD, DC, MSE

     In September we received a letter from M. Aebi, MD, Editor of the European Spine Journal, stating that we would have a 2nd paper published in that journal (which is our 3rd paper on main motion and coupled spinal motion).

     Our first two projects on main motion/coupled motion (lateral translations of the head & thoracic cage) were published in Clinical Biomechanics in Dec 1999 and Aug 2000. This present paper looked at spinal coupling during the main motion of thoracic cage protrusion/retraction (forward/backward translations). Our paper is entitled “How Do Anterior/Posterior Translations of the Thoracic Cage Affect the Sagittal Lumbar Spine, Pelvic Tilt, and Thoracic Kyphosis?” by DE Harrison, R Cailliet, DD Harrison, and TJ Janik.

            Our first paper published in the European Spine Journal appeared in their April, 2001 issue and reported no cervical kyphosis curve changes for head flexion/extension, which counteracts a claim made often by IMEs.

            In our present project, we report on previously unknown movements of the thoracic kyphosis, lumbar spine, and pelvic tilt during the protrusion/retraction movements of the rib cage. These movements of the rib cage had been neglected in the biomechanics research, even though Penning had studied these movements of the head (protrusion/retraction) as early as the 1968.

            This project was my son’s idea (Dr. Deed Harrison), who suggested that, while we were obtaining neutral lateral full spine radiographs of volunteers for our lateral thoracic spinal model, we ask 20 subjects for 2 additional views in protrusion/retraction. Our Internal Review Board (IRB) approved these additional views and Dr. Phil Paulk of Stockbridge, Georgia, took the x-rays last year. This project makes 16 published/accepted Index Medicus papers that we at CBP® have done in collaboration with Rene Cailliet, MD.

            Since there are three rotation and three translation axes for the head movements and thus the same six for thoracic cage movements, CBP® researchers are the first to study three out of 12 of these main motion for their concomitant coupled spinal motions in the biomechanics literature.