Shear wave elastography for assessing lateral abdominal muscles in thoracolumbar scoliosis: A preliminary study

There are no studies on the scoliotic population in which lateral abdominal muscle (LAM) was measured.

The aim of the study was to deliver the first results on LAM elasticity assessed by shear wave elastography (SWE) in right-side and left-side thoracolumbar scoliosis patients.

Twelve patients (mean age 12.25) with thoracolumbar scoliosis were included in the study. Muscle thickness and SWE of the obliquus external (OE), obliquus internal, and transversus abdominis (TrA) were measured with an ultrasound scanner. Measurements were taken at rest and during isometric contraction.

An analysis showed that in right-side scoliosis, the OE muscle on the convex side was stiffer by 7.25 kPa compared to the concave side. The OE muscle on the convex side in right-side scoliosis was also stiffer by 11.6 kPa compared to the convex side in left-side scoliosis. In left-side scoliosis, the TrA muscle on the concave side was stiffer by 7.84 kPa compared to the convex side.

Changes in LAM elasticity of thoracolumbar scoliosis were observed. A different pattern of LAM stiffness in different curve directions may be expected. OE and TrA shear moduli are the most sensitive to change in adolescent spinal deformation.