The purpose of this study was to determine long-term outcome in terms of spinal range of motion (ROM) and trunk muscle endurance (TME) patients treated for idiopathic scoliosis, diagnosed before the age of ten, were evaluated and compared with untreated or treated patients with idiopathic scoliosis with adolescent onset (AIS).
A total of 116 patients were examined 26.5 years after treatment. Braced Early Onset Scoliosis (EOS) patients had longer bracing time and operated EOS patients had longer fusions compared to the respective AIS groups.
This study looked at spine motion and spine muscle function in adults who were diagnosed with scoliosis as children. They were studied on average 26 years after diagnosis.
They compared patients who were diagnosed before or after the age of 10. Some patients had no treatment, some patients had a brace, and some patients had surgery.
The young EOS patients spent more time in a brace and had longer fusions. Having a brace or surgery at a young age did not result in worse strength or mobility as an adult. Patients who had surgery at a young age were just as strong and mobile as the untreated group.
These results were quite surprising as they are rather counterintuitive. The Early Onset Scoliosis (EOS) patients were started with brace treatment and spent more months in a brace than the comparative AIS group.
The surgical EOS patients had more levels fused and were fused younger than the comparative AIS patients. From this, one might expect the EOS patients to have more motion restriction than the AIS group and potentially more weakness. The results were actually opposite with the EOS group scoring, as well if not better than the AIS group in terms of mobility and strength.
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Authors: Karin Romberg1,2 · Aina Danielsson3,4 · Monika Fagevik Olsén1,2 · Gunilla Kjellby‑Wendt1,2 .Received: 4 September 2021 / Accepted: 15 February 2022 / Published online in Spine Deformity Journal: 23 March 2022 © The Author(s) 2022