Table 1

Bending posture and bending method classifications for classifying studies reviewed as part of the review of medical literature.

Bending PostureBending Method
A. Standing uncontrolled Patient stands uprights and bends on their own without grabbing anything or being bolstered to anything. I. Max Voluntary Patient bends as far as they can move them-selves without using their hands to pull into flexion.
B. Hips flexed In flexion, bending can occur in the hips and lumbar spine. Knees may or may not be flexed. II. Patient pulling Patient pulls on a fixed object to go further into flexion than the patient could otherwise go.
C. Standing pelvis bolster Upright standing with a bolster to minimize pelvis motion. Knees kept in full extension. III. Rad Tech Pulling A technician pushes and/or pulls the patient into a maximal spine bend.
D. Side lying Lying in lateral decubitus position and bending forward and backward. IV. Stan-dard End Range IVT and IVR are measured at a standardized overall trunk bending angle, short of the maximal end range position.
E. Traction & compression Using external forces to add load (compression) or to distract (traction) the spine while in an upright standing posture