JOINT RANGE OF MOTION AND MOBILITY OF THE HUMAN TORSO

THE OBJECT HAS BEEN TO DEVELOP A QUANTITATIVE DESCRIPTION OF THE MOBILITY OF THE HUMAN TORSO, INCLUDING THE SHOULDER GIRDLE, NECK, THORACIC AND LUMBAR VERTEBRAL COLUMN, AND PELVIS. THIS HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED BY A SYSTEMATIC MULTIDISCIPLINARY INVESTIGATION INVOLVING TECHNIQUES OF CADAVER DISSECTION AND MEASUREMENT, UTILIZING CINERADIOFLUOROSCOPY FOR JOINT CENTER OF ROTATION LOCATION, ANTHROPOMETRY, RADIOGRAPHY AND PHOTOGRAMMETRY FOR SELECTED POSITIONS AND MOTIONS OF LIVING SUBJECTS, AND COMPUTER ANALYSIS. THE MAJOR RESULTS OF THE STUDY ARE PREDICTION EQUATIONS AND GRAPHS DESCRIBING HOW THE BASE OF THE SPINE REFERENCE POINT (FIFTH LUMBAR SPINAL SURFACE MARKER) MOVES IN RELATION TO DEFINED SEATED AND STANDING REFERENCE POINTS FOR GIVEN REACHES, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNIQUES BY WHICH THE LENGTHS AND EXCURSIONS OF TORSO AND LIMB LINKS MAY BE ESTIMTED AND LOCATED. IT WAS FOUND THAT THE SURFACE LANDMARKS SELECTED COULD PREDICT PRECISE LOCATION OF THE UNDERLYING ANATOMICAL LANDMARKS. THE RESULTS PROVIDE INITIAL BASIC DATA REGARDING HUMAN TORSO MOTION, JOINT CENTER OF MOTION, AND LINK RELATIONSHIPS. /SAE/