Study design: Computerized tomography and image processing methodologies were used to analyze the axial and coronal orientation of cervical zygapophysial joints in asymptomatic adults. Surface motions of axial rotation and lateral bending were simulated.
Objective: The study was designed to obtain the normal distribution and variation of facet orientation (FO) in axial and coronal planes to investigate factors affecting FO and to study the effects of FO on axial rotation and lateral bending.
Summary of background data: The FO of the subaxial cervical spine is usually evaluated in the sagittal plane. Cervical spine axial and coronal FO is usually considered to be horizontal. The literature reveals no statistical data for axial or coronal FO.
Methods: Serial thin-sliced computed tomography scans of the cervical spine in asymptomatic adults were input into Image J, National Institutes of Health, image processing software. Bilateral zygapophysial joint angles from C2-C3 to C6-C7 were measured in the axial and coronal planes and collected from 100 subjects. The effect of gender, age, and correlation was analyzed. The surface motions of axial rotation and lateral bending were simulated in Abaqus CAE 6.5. Mathematical facet contact and range of motion were computed.
Results: The FO was widely distributed at each level. Gender had no significant association with FO. Age affected FO at most levels. Axial and coronal FO were significantly correlated. The zygapophysial joint of internally rotated/inverted FO contacted more perpendicularly to each other, and mathematical range of motion was smaller.
Conclusion: The axial or coronal FO of the subaxial cervical spine was found with more variability. Age was significantly related to FO. Geometrically, internally rotated/inverted FO of axial rotation/lateral bending was morerestricted. The extent of axial rotation and lateral bending was correlated with each other.