Alignment of centers of mass of body segments with the gravity line

Abstract

Sagittal malalignment is associated with increased disability and can lead to postural troubles. The latter is often the result of an inadequate weight distribution on the spine and trigger compensatory mechanisms. No study to date has provided reference values for the alignment of centers of mass (CoM) of different body segments in asymptomatic subjects. The use of a bi-planar X-ray system (Dubousset et al. 2010) combined with 3D reconstruction of the external body shape (Nérot et al. 2015) allows for computation of the body segments’ CoM. The aim of this study was to provide baseline values for the position of each segment’s CoM compared to the gravity line (GL) in the sagittal plane.