Assessment of changes in the sagittal plane of the spine in girls with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis using the moire method.

Abstract

The gold standard in the clinical assessment of the extent of scoliosis is the Cobb method but the analysis also covers the changes that occur within the spine and trunk in relation to the transverse and sagittal planes. The study aimed to estimate changes in the sagittal plane of the spine in girls with right-sided thoracic adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. The study involved 29 girls with scoliosis (13.6 ± 0.6 years) and 36 healthy girls as the comparison group. The tests included an interview, clinical examination (with the use of Adam's test and the Cobb angle), and examination of shape of the spine surface with the use of the photogrammetric method and the projection moire effect. Lower values of the thoracic kyphosis parameters were found in the scoliosis group. Significant differences were noted for the parameters of the lumbosacral section α (p= 0.02), thoracolumbar section β (p< 0.001), the upper thoracic section γ (p< 0.001), thoracolumbar and upper thoracic section β+γ (p< 0.001) and the total size of α+β+γ (p< 0.001) curvatures. The study showed that with an increase in the angular value of the thoracic curvature, the thoracic kyphosis decreased.