Displacement of Centre of Pressure during Rehabilitation Exercise in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Patients

Abstract

Background. Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is included into the category of pathologies that could affect postural control. Rarely AIS shows symptoms but often compromises the normal positioning of the head, trunk and, more generally, of the limbs in the space. We used a stabilometric platform to evaluate the motor control outcomes during a self-elongation in girls with AIS. Methods. In 10 girls with AIS, we evaluated the center of pressure (COP) modifications on a baropodometric platform in a standing position and after a self-elongation correction. Results. All the outcomes (except the eccentricity) showed an increasement during the self-elongation exercise even if the significant differences were not found. Conclusion. SE correction contributes to ameliorate the COP symmetry with a better repercussion on the balance management. This highlights the importance of repetitions during all activities of daily life.

Acute Effects of Self-Correction on Spine Deviation and Balance in Adolescent Girls with Idiopathic Scoliosis

“…AIS, among a plethora of disorders, alters posture with negative sequelae for balance control and, recently, physiotherapy treatments are assessed through a stabilometric evaluation [17,33,34]. At the same time, a new generation of instruments permits the evaluation of the scoliotic curve using ToF cameras without radiation and environmental light interferences.…”

“…Thus, thanks to this improvement, the investigation of scoliotic curve during SCM can be performed more accurately. Consequentely, the benefits/correctness of SCM can be evaluated in acute condition and in an objective way and not only by 'the view' of the therapist [17].…”

“…Anthropometric measurements were performed as described elsewhere [17]. Body mass was measured barefoot and in light clothing, standing upright in the center of the scale platform (Seca, Hamburg, Germany) with hands along the trunk.…”

“…The anthropometric parameters were then based on the average of the two closest measurements. Cobb angles [31] were measured according to specific guidelines [17] while the Risser sign [32] was determined from an X-ray image of the pelvis and then compared with references [17].…”

“…The magnitude of COP displacement is also used as an index to evaluate the effects of self-elongation movements during exercise. In fact, during SCM, the sway of the COP shows a balanced trend along two directions: antero-posterior and medio-lateral [17].…”