Fryette's Laws is a set of three laws pertaining to skeletal anatomy named after Harrison Fryette, D.O.

It is defined as a set of guiding principles used by practitioners of osteopathic medicine to discriminate between dysfunctions in the axial skeleton. The first two laws solely apply to the lumbar and thoracic spinal regions, but the third applies to the entire vertebral column.[1] The first two laws were developed by Dr. Fryette in 1918, and the third was developed by C.R. Nelson

The three principles

1. Principle I: When the spine is in neutral, sidebending to one side will be accompanied by horizontal rotation to the opposite side. In type I somatic dysfunction this law can be seen when more than one vertebrae are out of alignment and cannot be returned to neutral by flexion or extension. The involved group of vertebrae demonstrates a coupled relationship between side bending and rotation. When the spine is neutral, side bending forces are applied to a group of typical vertebrae and the entire group will rotate toward the opposite side: the side of produced convexity [3] Extreme type I dysfunction is similar to scoliosis. 2. Principle II: When the spine is flexed or extended (non-neutral), sidebending to one side will be accompanied by rotation to the same side. In type II somatic dysfunction of the spine, this law can be seen when only one vertebrae is out of place and becomes much worse on flexion or extension. There will be rotation and sidebending in the same direction when this dysfunction is present.[4] 3. Principle III: When motion is introduced in one plane it will modify (reduce) motion in the other two planes.[5] Type III sums up the other two laws by stating dysfunction in one plane will negatively affect all other planes of motion.

Finding the Right Spot To Feel The Transverse Process

Doctors and therapists treating the thoracic spine (middle of the back) have some special challenges. The anatomy of the thoracic spine is different from the cervical spine (neck) and the lumbar spine (low back). The bones of the thoracic spine are the transition units from cervical to lumbar spine. In this study, physical therapists test a new model for finding the transverse processes (TP) of the thoracic spine. The TP is a bony extension out to the side of the vertebral bone. It connects to the rib on either side of the vertebrae. Restoring normal alignment and motion at this connection is important for some patients with shoulder, neck, or back pain. But finding the exact spot of the TP can be difficult. It's not close to the surface of the skin. Some examiners use the spinous process (SP) to help them find the TP. But the shape and direction of the SP changes from the top of the bottom of the thoracic spine. The spinous process

is the bump you feel along the middle of your back. Using this landmark to locate the TP may not be reliable. To find the best way to locate the TPs, researchers dissected 15 cadavers. They removed the soft tissues over the TPs and SPs. They inserted pins into the SPs and TPs of each thoracic vertebra. Then they used a digital caliper to measure the distances between these two points. They took into consideration how far apart the fingers have to be to feel contact points. The authors report that if you find the SP and palpate (feel) just to the side of it, you'll be on the TP of the vertebra one level above. This holds true throughout the thoracic spine. This model replaces the previously used Rule of Threes model. The old model used the SPs to find the TPs. This method tried to adjust for the change in angle of the SP from vertebra to vertebra. The new model shows this is not necessary. However, this new model may not always apply to the last two thoracic vertebrae (T11 and T12) because of how much they vary in position from person to person.