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Assessment of sensorimotor control in adults with surgical correction for idiopathic scoliosis

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims at verifying if impaired sensorimotor control observed in adolescents and young adults with scoliosis is also present in adult patients who underwent surgery to reduce their spine deformation.

Methods

The study included ten healthy adults and ten adults with idiopathic scoliosis who underwent surgery to reduce their spine deformation. Galvanic vestibular stimulation was delivered to assess sensorimotor control. Vertical forces under each foot and horizontal displacement of the upper body were measured before, during and after stimulation. Balance control was assessed by calculating the root mean square values of kinematic and kinetic variables.

Results

The amplitude of the vestibular-evoked postural response was 3.4 % (0.8–6.0 %) and 4.5 % (−0.4 to 9.5 %) of the maximal range of motion. Therefore, spine surgery did not limit the postural response. Patients with idiopathic scoliosis exhibited larger body sway than the healthy controls during and immediately after vestibular stimulation. The maximal normalized lateral displacement of the body was 0.85 and 0.40 cm/m and maximal normalized vertical force was 0.78 vs. 0.39 N/kg, for idiopathic scoliosis and healthy groups, respectively.

Conclusions

This result suggests that dysfunctional sensorimotor integration is still present even in adult idiopathic scoliosis that underwent spine deformation correction.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank La Fondation Yves Cotrel—Institut de France for funding this study. JPP was supported by the Fondation Chiropratique du Québec and the Ordre des chiropraticiens du Québec, which co-funded a scholarship with the Fonds de Recherche du Québec en Santé. JPP also received support from the European Chiropractic Union.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département de Kinésiologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, 2300, Rue de la Terrasse, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada

    Jean-Philippe Pialasse & Martin Simoneau

  2. Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec, Québec, QC, Canada

    Jean-Philippe Pialasse & Martin Simoneau

  3. Clinique d’orthopédie Infantile de Québec and Département de Chirurgie, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada

    Pierre Mercier

  4. Département des Sciences de l’activité Physique, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, QC, Canada

    Martin Descarreaux

Authors
  1. Jean-Philippe Pialasse
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  2. Pierre Mercier
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  3. Martin Descarreaux
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  4. Martin Simoneau
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Martin Simoneau.

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None of the authors has any potential conflict of interest.

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Pialasse, JP., Mercier, P., Descarreaux, M. et al. Assessment of sensorimotor control in adults with surgical correction for idiopathic scoliosis. Eur Spine J 25, 3347–3352 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-016-4421-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-016-4421-8

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