A non-invasive method and equipment for the evaluation of the flexibility of the spine of a patient and, as a result of this evaluation, the detection and identification of possible mechanical injuries in the lumbar portion of this spine. According to this method, a string of skin-markers is fixed onto the skin of the back of the patient in the midline of his spine from at least cervical vertebra C7 down to at least sacral vertebra S3. Two other skin-markers are fixed onto the skin of the back of the patient in a bilateral and symmetrical manner on the crests of his ilium. The relative positions of all the skin-markers are then monitored and recorded as he flexes forward in this sagittal plane and the so recorded positions are processed to determine (1) the angle of flexion alpha of the patient, this angle alpha being indicative of the combined motion of both hip and spine of the patient, (2) the angle of rotation 'h' of the hip and (3) the actual contribution of the spine to the total flexion of the patient, this contribution, expressed as angle 's', being indicative of the spine motion of the patient.
Method and equipment for evaluating the flexibility of a human spine.