Neurosurgery Resident Physician Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin
Introduction: Spinal alignment is crucial for maintaining biomechanical integrity and functional stability, with parameters such as T1 Slope (T1 SPI) and T1 Pelvic Angle (TPA) serving as critical indicators of spinal health. The relationship between these parameters and varying spinal curvatures defined by Pelvic Incidence (PI) provides key insights into the biomechanical responses associated with spinal deformities and clinical conditions. This study aims to elucidate the behavior of T1 Slope and TPA across different degrees of spinal curvature, categorized by low, moderate, and high PI, to determine whether T1 Slope remains stable and whether TPA exhibits significant disruption with increasing spinal curvature.
Methods: A dataset comprising 75 radiographic measurements was analyzed, collected from biomechanical models encompassing various spinal curvature profiles. Spinal curvature was categorized based on PI values into three groups: low (PI ≤ 45), moderate (45 < PI < 75), and high (PI ≥ 75).
Results: The results indicated that T1 Slope remained relatively consistent across different PI categories, with mean values of -2.38 (low), -4.94 (moderate), and -5.14 (high). The ANOVA p-value of 0.301 indicated that these differences were not statistically significant, affirming the hypothesis that T1 Slope remains minimally affected by changes in spinal curvature. Conversely, TPA exhibited a progressive increase with rising curvature severity, with mean values of 9.55 (low), 13.10 (moderate), and 15.59 (high). The ANOVA p-value of 0.044 demonstrated statistical significance, supporting the hypothesis that TPA becomes increasingly disrupted as spinal curvature intensifies.
Conclusion : The findings substantiate the stability of T1 Slope across varying levels of spinal curvature, underscoring its reliability in clinical evaluation frameworks. In contrast, the significant disruption observed in TPA with increasing curvature severity highlights its sensitivity to changes in spinal alignment. The moderate positive correlation between PI and TPA suggests that while PI exerts a discernible influence, other biomechanical factors may also contribute to TPA variability. Future investigations should focus on identifying additional determinants and refining curvature classification criteria to enhance the precision and applicability of these findings in clinical contexts.
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