Postural Assessment in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: relations between trunk and spine morphology, static balance and self-perceived body image

Purpose: Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is a 3-D deformity of the spine that affects aesthetic and quality of life during growth. Since AIS can progressively increase and be responsible for several diseases, the regular screening and monitoring are necessary in order to obtain early diagnosis and treatment. The aim of the study is to compare different methods of postural evaluation commonly used for non-invasive assessment in people with AIS. Methods: Fifteen people with diagnosis of AIS were recruited from a physiotherapy centre (age range: 12-22 years). After medical evaluation, they were tested during a single session time with following tools: Trunk Appearance Perception Scale (TAPS: body image), Scoliosis Research Society Questionnaire – Italian Version (SRS-22: quality of life and body image), Spinal Mouse (SPINAL: spine morphology and trunk inclination in sagittal and frontal plane), Nintendo Balance Board with MyPerfectPosture® software (BALANCE: centre of pressure position and static balance), Photogrammetry with APECS App (PHOTO: body alignment in frontal and sagittal plane). Data from each tools were selected and compared in order to correlate them. In particular, SPINAL was assumed as reference tools for multiple analysis. Results: BALANCE data are significantly correlated with SPINAL inclination on sagittal plane (adj R2= 0.43; p<0.05) but not with inclination on frontal plane (adj R2=0.13; p>0.05) and spinal curvature (adj R2=0.31; p=0.08). PHOTO data are significantly correlated with SPINAL inclination on frontal plane (adj R2= 0.43; p< 0.05). No significance was found between TAPS, SRS-22 and SPINAL. Simple correlation analysis between selected variables evidenced poor to moderate correlation for all tools. Conclusions: SPINAL has been previously validated as an effective tools for spine evaluation in frontal and sagittal plane; although correlation with it ranged from poor to moderate, BALANCE can be a simple, low cost and quick methods to assess posture in people with AIS. Furthermore, TAPS, SRS-22 and PHOTO could be easily added to globally monitor subjects during growth. Reference: Livanelioglu A, Kaya F, Nabiyev V, Demirkiran G, Fırat T (2016), The validity and reliability of ‘‘Spinal Mouse’’ assessment of spinal curvatures in the frontal plane in pediatric adolescent idiopathic thoraco-lumbar curves, Eur Spine J; 25(2) : 476-82 Clark RA, Mentiplay BF, Pua YU, Bower KJ (2018), Reliability and validity of the Wii Balance Board for assessment of standing balance: a systematic review, Gait Posture; 61: 40–54