The extremes of spinal motion: a kinematic study of a contortionist in an open-configuration magnetic resonance scanner: case report.

STUDY

DESIGN

Observational case study on a female contortionist.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate how the human spine of a young athlete aligns during extreme body contortions.

SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: To our knowledge, there are no data available in the literature on the spinal kinematics under extreme body contortions.

METHODS

Conventional and kinematic magnetic resonance imaging was used to study a 22-year-old female Chinese contortionist. The images were analyzed with regard to abnormal segmental motion and degenerative alterations.

RESULTS

No abnormal segmental motion was observed. The patient had a normal spine beside a mild anterior displacement of L1 relative to L2, with mild disc degeneration and small anterior spondylosis. In addition, a mild disc degeneration was observed at T4/5. No other abnormal findings were diagnosed.

CONCLUSIONS

The kinematic magnetic resonance investigation of the presented case did not reveal any evidence for abnormal segmental motion or subluxation in extreme body contortions and indicates that this excessive motion results from extreme spinal flexibility.