Authors (including presenting author) :
Wong MS(1), Leung AKP(1), Chan ACM(1)
Affiliation :
(1)Physiotherapy Department, Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Introduction :
Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), a torsional deformity of the spine and trunk, is the most common (84%-89%) form of scoliosis. Increasing number of physiotherapy outpatient headcount in QEH with the diagnosis of AIS was observed with a surplus of 11.3% to 50% annually in recent years. Conventional treatment for mild AIS was conservative management with physiotherapy exercise program or sometimes only disease monitoring by X-ray. Growing evidence suggested that Physiotherapeutic-Scoliosis-Specific-Exercises (PSSE), which included auto-correction in 3D, integration into daily life and patient education, could improve patients' curve site, magnitude, clinical characteristics and slow curve progression. An enhanced physiotherapy program with PSSE for AIS was therefore designed to improve patient outcomes since March 2024.
Objectives :
The objective of this study was to review the effectiveness of the enhanced physiotherapy program with PSSE on physical and disease perception outcomes in patients with mild AIS in QEH.
Methodology :
This was a longitudinal case series. Patients (10-16 years old) with mild AIS who completed at least 6 months of weekly physiotherapy program since March 2024 were included. The program consisted of individualized assessment, PSSE (based on Barcelona-Scoliosis-Physical-Therapy-School and consisted of cognitive, sensory-motor and kinesthetic training), core strengthening exercise, patient education and daily home exercise.
Patient demographics, the Cobb angle of the Largest Curve from X-ray, angle of trunk rotation using scoliometer, Trunk Appearance Perception Scale (TAPS) (score ranges from 1-15, with lower scores indicating a greater self-perception of scoliosis deformity while higher scores indicating smaller self-perception of deformity) used for evaluating the perception patients have of their trunk deformity, were collected at baseline and 6-month follow-up.
Result & Outcome :
Three patients (Patient A: 13-year-old female; Patient B: 14-year-old female; Patient C: 14-year-old female) were included in this data retrieval. All of them showed a significant decrease of Cobb angle of the Largest Curve from X-ray (A: from 28 to 20; B: from 28.6 to 14; C: from 23 to 12). Improvement of angle of trunk rotation in all patients was observed (A: from 7 to 5; B: from 5 to 2; C: from 7 to 5). For Trunk Appearance Perception Scale, all of them showed improvement in score with a mean score from 8.67 to 6.67.
This case series showed that the enhanced physiotherapy program with PSSE improved physical outcomes including Cobb angle and angle of trunk rotation in adolescents with mild idiopathic scoliosis. Their disease perception could also be modified. Further program implementation in our patients is warranted.
