How the spine measurements are displayed in this book

The purpose of this book is to provide the clinician or researcher with a user-friendly display of many of the most common spine measurements, all in one quick reference text. We chose to provide a short introduction to each of the major spine measurement domains by an expert in the field followed by a summary of each spine measurement relative to that domain.

The spine measurements in this book are divided broadly into three main categories: clinical measurements, laboratory measurements, and radiographic measurements. Each category is further divided into the following subcategories and presented accordingly in the book.

Clinical measurements

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  Range of motion

  
  
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  Neurological

  
  
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  Strength

  
  
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  Body composition

Laboratory measurements

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  Blood, urine, plasma, and serum

  
  
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  Electrophysiological

  
  
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  Pulmonary

Radiographic measurements

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  Fractures and dislocations

  
  
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  Disease

  
  
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  Deformity

Each subcategory contains an introduction that seeks to explain the development, evolution, and current status of the corresponding spine measurement. These introductions are followed by a summary of the spine measurements found within each subcategory. Where appropriate, we have included illustrations of the spine measurement and a legend, if the illustration needs an explanation.

Each spine measurement is summarized on a double-page spread containing:

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  Description of its content, interpretation, and clinical relevance

  
  
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  Summary of any interobserver or intraobserver reliability evaluations with corresponding patient populations

  
  
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  Score for scientific component consisting of interobserver and intraobserver reliability, universality, and disease specificity

  
  
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  Score for clinical utility based on ease of application, simplicity, patient tolerability, and affordability

The content evaluation contains a written description of what makes up the spine measurement. This is followed by how to interpret the measurement. Finally, the clinical relevance of each measurement from the perspective of a spine surgeon is given.

The methodology (interobserver and intraobserver reliability) summary section includes the population in which the spine measurement was tested and whether the measurement was found to be reliable. If there was no such testing found in the literature, then it is listed as “not tested”. A “+” symbol indicates that the concept was judged favorably (eg, it was found to have interobserver or intraobserver reliability), while a “−” symbol indicates that it was judged unfavorably (eg, it was found not to have interobserver or intraobserver reliability) in the corresponding population.

The content evaluation, methodology, clinical utility, and overall score sections are also summarized by a “bubble score” depicting the number of points it received out of the total points possible.