Discrepancy between self-awareness and actual diagnosis and treatment of the conditions among adolescent with scoliosis in middle-school age.
Wan-Hee Lee, Hyojeong Kang, Seong Yeol Kim
PMID 28533586WHAT IT FOUND
Students with a positive forward bend test (>5 degrees trunk rotation) reported a scoliosis diagnosis more often (6.26% compared with 4.08%), but 53.63% of diagnosed students reported no treatment.
Key findings
01Of 4,216 analysed students, 3,009 (71.37%) were aware of scoliosis, but only 50.84% correctly defined it.
02Students with a forward bend test deformity greater than 5 degrees reported a scoliosis diagnosis more often (35 of 559, 6.26%) than students with a deformity less than 5 degrees (149 of 3,656, 4.08%).
03Of 184 students who reported a scoliosis diagnosis, 53.63% had not received treatment and 20.11% had stopped treatment.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study analysed 4,216 students who responded, but 565 enrolled students did not respond, so findings may not represent all enrolled students. The sample was limited to second-grade middle-school students in parts of Korea, so results may not apply to other regions or age groups. Only 310 students consented to spine structure measurement, so objective confirmation was available for a small subset. The study relied on students' answers about diagnosis and treatment, and it did not report medical-record verification or measured curve progression. The authors note that only self-awareness of diagnosis and treatment was examined, and further research is needed in various regions and with parents.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat a positive forward bend test as a confirmed scoliosis diagnosis. In the students with a forward bend test deformity greater than 5 degrees, 93.74% were not diagnosed, so the test only raises suspicion and needs objective confirmation.