Analysis of sensory system aspects of postural stability during quiet standing in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients.
Taeyong Sim, Hakje Yoo, Dongjun Lee and 4 others
PMID 29929530WHAT IT FOUND
Adolescent girls with scoliosis showed larger changes in standing sway when eyes were closed, especially in ranges linked to inner-ear balance and body-position sense.
This suggests greater reliance on those systems, not proof that balance training works.
Key findings
01Adolescents with scoliosis had a larger eyes-closed versus eyes-open sway energy change than controls in frequency bands assigned to vestibular and somatosensory systems.
02The eyes-closed sway energy change tended to be higher with greater Cobb angle severity in vestibular and somatosensory bands, but the authors said the spread of values was too large for a clear severity conclusion.
03The authors suggest quiet-standing sway analysis could be used as a reference for comparing postural stability before and after treatments such as spinal fusion, bracing, or rehabilitation.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study was observational and did not test any treatment. All participants were female adolescents, so it does not describe boys or adults. The groups were 32 scoliosis patients and 25 controls, and severity groups were 12, 10, and 10. The frequency bands were assigned to sensory systems by interpretation of center-of-pressure signal ranges. The authors reported large standard deviations across severity groups, which made a clear severity conclusion difficult. The reported outcomes were center-of-pressure energy measures; no fall outcome or treatment response was reported.
Declared interests
The supplied text lists only Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't as a publication type. It does not report a funding source or author conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that scoliosis causes vestibular dysfunction or that vestibular training is needed. The study only compared quiet-standing sway energy with eyes open and eyes closed, and it did not test a treatment or diagnose vestibular disease.