Sebastiaan Schelfaut , Thijs Ackermans , Fred Ruythooren , Tom Leppens , Pierre Moens , Anja Van Campenhout , Lieven Moke , Lennart Scheys
{"title":"Postoperative forward flexion loss in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: How it relates to the lowest instrumented vertebra and function","authors":"Sebastiaan Schelfaut , Thijs Ackermans , Fred Ruythooren , Tom Leppens , Pierre Moens , Anja Van Campenhout , Lieven Moke , Lennart Scheys","doi":"10.1016/j.gaitpost.2025.06.018","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Spinal fusion is a common treatment for severe, progressive Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS). Maximum safe preservation of motion segments, particularly in the lumbar spine, is a widely accepted surgical goal. However, the specific relationship between reduced spinal motion and fusion length/lowest instrumented vertebra (LIV) and its effect on functional outcomes remains largely unexplored.</div></div><div><h3>Research question</h3><div>Is there a difference in trunk mobility and functional outcomes between thoracolumbar (TL) and thoracic-only (T) fusion groups? Additionally, is a greater loss of seated forward flexion trunk mobility after fusion in AIS patients associated with worse functional outcomes and a greater LIV score?</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>This study includes 37 AIS patients (11–29 y), with a mean follow-up of 1-year. Data collected preoperatively, at 3-months, and 1-year included structural, motion, and functional assessments (PROMs and activity tracking). These were compared between groups experiencing greater reduction in trunk mobility (high RoM loss) and those with lesser reduction of trunk mobility (low RoM loss), as well as between thoracolumbar (TL) and thoracic (T) fusion groups.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>At 3 months follow-up, the high RoM loss group demonstrated significantly lower SRS function scores (p = 0.028), and significantly higher LIV score (p = 0.032) compared to the low RoM loss group. No significant difference in fusion length between low and high RoM loss groups was found (p = 0.630). Notably, the TL fusion group exhibited greater percentage changes in trunk mobility at 3 months compared to the T fusion group, although these differences were not statistically significant. Moreover, SRS-function score and SC showed no significant differences between T and TL fusion groups.</div></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><div>These results suggest that a greater reduction in trunk mobility could lead to poorer functional outcomes at 3 months follow-up and may be associated with a more distally located LIV following fusion surgery in AIS patients.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12496,"journal":{"name":"Gait & posture","volume":"122 ","pages":"Pages 10-16"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Gait & posture","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966636225002486","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"NEUROSCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background
Spinal fusion is a common treatment for severe, progressive Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS). Maximum safe preservation of motion segments, particularly in the lumbar spine, is a widely accepted surgical goal. However, the specific relationship between reduced spinal motion and fusion length/lowest instrumented vertebra (LIV) and its effect on functional outcomes remains largely unexplored.
Research question
Is there a difference in trunk mobility and functional outcomes between thoracolumbar (TL) and thoracic-only (T) fusion groups? Additionally, is a greater loss of seated forward flexion trunk mobility after fusion in AIS patients associated with worse functional outcomes and a greater LIV score?
Methods
This study includes 37 AIS patients (11–29 y), with a mean follow-up of 1-year. Data collected preoperatively, at 3-months, and 1-year included structural, motion, and functional assessments (PROMs and activity tracking). These were compared between groups experiencing greater reduction in trunk mobility (high RoM loss) and those with lesser reduction of trunk mobility (low RoM loss), as well as between thoracolumbar (TL) and thoracic (T) fusion groups.
Results
At 3 months follow-up, the high RoM loss group demonstrated significantly lower SRS function scores (p = 0.028), and significantly higher LIV score (p = 0.032) compared to the low RoM loss group. No significant difference in fusion length between low and high RoM loss groups was found (p = 0.630). Notably, the TL fusion group exhibited greater percentage changes in trunk mobility at 3 months compared to the T fusion group, although these differences were not statistically significant. Moreover, SRS-function score and SC showed no significant differences between T and TL fusion groups.
Significance
These results suggest that a greater reduction in trunk mobility could lead to poorer functional outcomes at 3 months follow-up and may be associated with a more distally located LIV following fusion surgery in AIS patients.
期刊介绍:
Gait & Posture is a vehicle for the publication of up-to-date basic and clinical research on all aspects of locomotion and balance.
The topics covered include: Techniques for the measurement of gait and posture, and the standardization of results presentation; Studies of normal and pathological gait; Treatment of gait and postural abnormalities; Biomechanical and theoretical approaches to gait and posture; Mathematical models of joint and muscle mechanics; Neurological and musculoskeletal function in gait and posture; The evolution of upright posture and bipedal locomotion; Adaptations of carrying loads, walking on uneven surfaces, climbing stairs etc; spinal biomechanics only if they are directly related to gait and/or posture and are of general interest to our readers; The effect of aging and development on gait and posture; Psychological and cultural aspects of gait; Patient education.