Comparative study of flexicurve ruler with Microsoft Kinect tool in spinal arch evaluation
Journal of Clinical Physiotherapy Research,
Vol. 10 No. 1 (2025),
15 November 2025
,
Page 1-14
https://doi.org/10.22037/jcpr.v10i1.50918
Abstract
Background : Identifying spinal abnormalities and assessing the physical condition of people in the community with accurate and reliable tools is of great importance. The main purpose of this study was to compare the flexible ruler with Microsoft Kinect tool in spine arch evaluation. Methods: The present study is a descriptive study and for this purpose, 44 male athletes aged 20 to 42 years in Rasht who were purposefully selected participated in this study. First, a flexicurve ruler was used to evaluate the arch of the spine, and then the Microsoft Kinect tool was used. It was measured in three steps with an interval of 15 minutes. Results: Pearson correlation coefficient was used to investigate the relationship between flexicurve ruler and Microsoft Kinect measurements (for validity) and intragroup correlation coefficient was used to evaluate the reliability of kyphosis and lordosis measurements. The results showed that there was moderate validity between the measurements obtained by Microsoft Kinect and the flexicurve ruler (r = 0.407 for kyphosis and r = 0.396 for lordosis), but the in-test reliability of this device was very high (kyphosis ICC = 0/998 and lordosis ICC = 0/998) was obtained. Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that Microsoft Kinect is a reliable tool in evaluating and measuring the angle of kyphosis and lordosis and also has validity. Therefore, this device can be used quickly and accurately in the evaluation of the spine arch.
- kyphosis, lordosis, Microsoft Kinect, flexicurve
How to Cite
References
1. S. M. ARAB A.M., NOURBAKHSH MOHAMMAD REZA, “RELATIVE EFFECTS OF MECHANICAL FACTORS ON LOW BACK PAIN,” KOWSAR Med. J., vol. 9, pp. 67–76, 2004.
2. C. K. Dobosiewicz K, Durmala J, Jendrzejek H, “Influence of method of asymmetric trunk mobilization on shaping of a physiological thoracic kyphosis in children and youth suffering from progressive idiopathic scoliosis.,” Stud Heal. Technol Inf., vol. 91, pp. 348–51, 2002.
3. H. R. (MA) Golpayegani M (PhD), Mahtabi S (MA)*, Shahjerdi S (PhD), “The study of validity and reliability of formetric 4D system in measuring of deformites in kyphosis and lordosis in women,” J. Shahrekord Univ. Med. Sci., vol. 15, pp. 74–81, 2013.
4. F. D’Osualdo, S. Schierano, and M. Iannis, “Validation of clinical measurement of kyphosis with a simple instrument, the arcometer,” Spine, vol. 22, no. 4. pp. 408–413, 1997, doi: 10.1097/00007632-199702150-00011.
5. C. Fölsch, S. Schlögel, S. Lakemeier, U. Wolf, N. Timmesfeld, and A. Skwara, “Test-Retest Reliability of 3D Ultrasound Measurements of the Thoracic Spine,” PM R, vol. 4, no. 5, pp. 335–341, 2012, doi: 10.1016/j.pmrj.2012.01.009.
6. G. A. Greendale, N. S. Nili, M. H. Huang, L. Seeger, and A. S. Karlamangla, “The reliability and validity of three non-radiological measures of thoracic kyphosis and their relations to the standing radiological Cobb angle,” Osteoporos. Int., vol. 22, no. 6, pp. 1897–1905, 2011, doi: 10.1007/s00198-010-1422-z.
7. E. Kellis, G. Adamou, G. Tzilios, and M. Emmanouilidou, “Reliability of Spinal Range of Motion in Healthy Boys Using a Skin-Surface Device,” J. Manipulative Physiol. Ther., vol. 31, no. 8, pp. 570–576, 2008, doi: 10.1016/j.jmpt.2008.09.001.
8. K. R. Saad, A. S. Colombo, A. P. Ribeiro, and S. M. A. João, “Reliability of photogrammetry in the evaluation of the postural aspects of individuals with structural scoliosis,” J. Bodyw. Mov. Ther., vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 210–216, 2012, doi: 10.1016/j.jbmt.2011.03.005.
9. D. M. Perriman, J. M. Scarvell, A. R. Hughes, B. Ashman, C. J. Lueck, and P. N. Smith, “Validation of the flexible electrogoniometer for measuring thoracic kyphosis,” Spine (Phila. Pa. 1976)., vol. 35, no. 14, 2010, doi: 10.1097/BRS.0b013e3181d13039.
10. T. S. de Oliveira et al., “Validity and Reproducibility of the Measurements Obtained Using the Flexicurve Instrument to Evaluate the Angles of Thoracic and Lumbar Curvatures of the Spine in the Sagittal Plane,” Rehabil. Res. Pract., vol. 2012, pp. 1–9, 2012, doi: 10.1155/2012/186156.
11. M. Morin Doody, J. E. Lonstein, M. Stovall, D. G. Hacker, N. Luckyanov, and C. E. Land, “Breast cancer mortality after diagnostic radiography: Findings from the U.S. scoliosis cohort study,” Spine (Phila. Pa. 1976)., vol. 25, no. 16, pp. 2052–2063, 2000, doi: 10.1097/00007632-200008150-00009.
12. R. Sytema, R. Dekker, P. U. Dijkstra, H. J. Ten Duis, and C. K. Van Der Sluis, “Upper extremity sports injury: Risk factors in comparison to lower extremity injury in more than 25 000 cases,” Clin. J. Sport Med., vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 256–263, 2010, doi: 10.1097/JSM.0b013e3181e71e71.
13. M. R. Nourbakhsh, S. J. Moussavi, and M. Salavati, “Effects of lifestyle and work-related physical activity on the degree of lumbar lordosis and chronic low back pain in a middle east population,” J. Spinal Disord., vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 283–292, 2001, doi: 10.1097/00002517-200108000-00002.
14. D. Caine, M.P., McConnell, A.K., and Taylor, “Assessment of spinal curvature an evaluation of the flexicurve and associated means of analysis,” Int.J.Rehabil.Res, vol. 19, pp. 271–278, 1996.
15. S. B. N. Thompson and W. Eales, “Clinical considerations and comparative measures of assessing curvature of the spine,” J. Med. Eng. Technol., vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 143–147, 1994, doi: 10.3109/03091909409030793.
16. F. R. R. Rajabi, S. Latifi, H. Minoonejad, “The effect of soft tissues in measurement of thoracic kyphosis by flexible ruler.” pp. 91–104, 2016.
17. A. F. Mannion, K. Knecht, G. Balaban, J. Dvorak, and D. Grob, “A new skin-surface device for measuring the curvature and global and segmental ranges of motion of the spine: Reliability of measurements and comparison with data reviewed from the literature,” Eur. Spine J., vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 122–136, 2004, doi: 10.1007/s00586-003-0618-8.
18. A. B. Ademoyegun, M. O. Egwu, and C. E. Mbada, “Concurrent validity and reliability of the Microsoft kinectTM device in cervical spine range of motion assessment,” Arch. Physiother. Glob. Res., vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 21–33, 2018, doi: 10.15442/apgr.22.4.3.
19. F. Menna, F. Remondino, R. Battisti, and E. Nocerino, “Geometric investigation of a gaming active device,” Videometrics, Range Imaging, Appl. XI, vol. 8085, p. 80850G, 2011, doi: 10.1117/12.890070.
20. J. Shotton et al., “Real-Time human pose recognition in parts from single depth images,” Commun. ACM, vol. 56, no. 1, pp. 116–124, 2013, doi: 10.1145/2398356.2398381.
21. G. Mustapha, W. R. Wan Sulaiman, A. P. P. Abdul Majeed, N. H. Mohd Yahya, and J. Mahmud, “Kinematics and efficacy analysis of the Seni Silat Cekak Malaysia (Kaedah A),” Appl. Mech. Mater., vol. 680, pp. 267–270, 2014, doi: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.680.267.
22. J. A.-M. Jose Antonio Diego-Mas, “Evaluation of the relationship between Matthias test quantitative score and the degree of chest and lumbar curvature in students aged 8 to 13 years,” 2014, doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2013.12.001.The.
23. A. P. G. Castro et al., “Evaluation of spinal posture using Microsoft KinectTM: A preliminary case-study with 98 volunteers,” Porto Biomed. J., vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 18–22, 2017, doi: 10.1016/j.pbj.2016.11.004.
24. E. Hannink, T. Shannon, K. L. Barker, and H. Dawes, “The reliability and reproducibility of sagittal spinal curvature measurement using the Microsoft Kinect V2,” J. Back Musculoskelet. Rehabil., vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 295–301, 2020, doi: 10.3233/BMR-191554.
25. R. Rajabi, F. Seidi, and F. Mohamadi, “Which method is accurate when using the flexible ruler to measure the lumbar curvature angle? Deep point or standing and sitting in two types of chairs: mid point of arch?,” World Appl. Sci. J., vol. 4, no. 6, pp. 849–852, 2008.
26. J. W. Youdas, J. H. Hollman, and D. A. Krause, “The effects of gender, age, and body mass index on standing lumbar curvature in persons without current low back pain,” Physiother. Theory Pract., vol. 22, no. 5, pp. 229–237, 2006, doi: 10.1080/09593980600927864.
27. R. R. M. KIUMARS, “MINOONEJAD HOOMAN, “THE IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF CORE STABILITY EXERCISES ON POSTURAL SWAY IN ATHLETES WITH FUNCTIONAL ANKLE INSTABILITY,” Sci. J. Rehabil. Med, vol. 4, pp. 103–112, 2015.
28. J. M. McGaugh, J. M. Brismée, G. S. Dedrick, E. A. Jones, and P. S. Sizer, “Comparing the anatomical consistency of the posterior superior iliac spine to the iliac crest as reference landmarks for the lumbopelvic spine: A retrospective radiological study,” Clin. Anat., vol. 20, no. 7, pp. 819–825, 2007, doi: 10.1002/ca.20531.
29. M. J. Ernst, F. M. Rast, C. M. Bauer, V. L. Marcar, and J. Kool, “Determination of thoracic and lumbar spinal processes by their percentage position between C7 and the PSIS level,” BMC Res. Notes, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 2–7, 2013, doi: 10.1186/1756-0500-6-58.
30. B. F. Mentiplay, R. A. Clark, A. Mullins, A. L. Bryant, S. Bartold, and K. Paterson, “Reliability and validity of the Microsoft Kinect for evaluating static foot posture,” J. Foot Ankle Res., vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 1–10, 2013, doi: 10.1186/1757-1146-6-14.
31. J. Quek, S. G. Brauer, J. Treleaven, and R. A. Clark, “The concurrent validity and intrarater reliability of the Microsoft Kinect to measure thoracic kyphosis,” Int. J. Rehabil. Res., vol. 40, no. 3, pp. 279–284, 2017, doi: 10.1097/MRR.0000000000000237.
32. M. Ripani, A. Di Cesare, A. Giombini, L. Agnello, F. Fagnani, and F. Pigozzi, “Spinal curvature: Comparison of frontal measurements with the Spinal Mouse and radiographic assessment,” J. Sports Med. Phys. Fitness, vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 488–494, 2008.
33. M. Mohokum, S. Mendoza, W. Udo, H. Sitter, J. R. Paletta, and A. Skwara, “Erratum: Reproducibility of rasterstereography for kyphotic and lordotic Angles, trunk length, and trunk inclination: A reliability study (Spine (2010) 35 (1353-1358)),” Spine (Phila. Pa. 1976)., vol. 35, no. 18, p. 1738, 2010, doi: 10.1097/BRS.0b013e3181eeb243.
34. Y.-C. Chang, “UCGE Reports A Photogrammetric System for 3D Reconstruction of a Scoliotic Torso,” Dep. Geomatics Eng., vol. UCGE Repor, no. 20274, 2008.
35. M. Papadakis, P. Papagelopoulos, G. Papadokostakis, G. Sapkas, J. Damilakis, and P. Katonis, “The impact of bone mineral density on the degree of curvature of the lumbar spine,” J. Musculoskelet. Neuronal Interact., vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 46–51, 2011.
36. F. Asadi and N. Arjmand, “Marker-less versus marker-based driven musculoskeletal models of the spine during static load-handling activities,” J. Biomech., vol. 112, 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2020.110043.
37. C. H. Liu, P. Lee, Y. L. Chen, C. W. Yen, and C. W. Yu, “Study of postural stability features by using kinect depth sensors to assess body joint coordination patterns,” Sensors (Switzerland), vol. 20, no. 5, 2020, doi: 10.3390/s20051291.
38. Daniel Muijs, Doing Quantitative Research in Education with SPSS. Sage Publications London, 2004.
39. W. . Vincent, Statistics in kinesiology, 2 ed, Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL. 2002.
40. D. Pagliari and L. Pinto, “Calibration of Kinect for Xbox One and comparison between the two generations of microsoft sensors,” Sensors (Switzerland), vol. 15, no. 11, pp. 27569–27589, 2015, doi: 10.3390/s151127569.
41. O. Ciobanu, G. Ciobanu, and A. Aniello, “AN APPLICATION OF KINECT DEPTH SENSOR FOR SCOLIOSIS AND KYPHOSIS SCREENING,” pp. 1–7.
42. C. A. Schneider, W. S. Rasband, and K. W. Eliceiri, “NIH Image to ImageJ: 25 years of image analysis,” Nat. Methods, vol. 9, no. 7, pp. 671–675, 2012, doi: 10.1038/nmeth.2089.
- Abstract Viewed: 83 times
- PDF Downloaded: 28 times