Trunk endurance differences between female adolescents with and without idiopathic scoliosis

This study compared trunk muscle endurance between female adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) and non-AIS groups.

This cross-sectional study included 91 females. Trunk muscle endurance was assessed using the Ito-Shirado and Biering-Sørensen tests. Anthropometric and radiographic data were collected. The Mann-Whitney U test compared endurance and abdominal-to-paraspinal endurance ratio between groups. Spearman's correlation assessed relationships between endurance and participant characteristics.

The AIS group's performance on the Ito-Shirado and Biering-Sørensen tests was 57% and 68% of the non-AIS group's test durations, respectively (p = 0.001). However, there was no significant difference in the abdominal-to-paraspinal endurance ratio between the two groups (p = 0.7). Additionally, a low negative correlation was observed between paraspinal muscle endurance and both weight (rho = - 0.29, p = 0.006)) and BMI (rho = - 0.3, p = 0.005) in the AIS group, while abdominal endurance correlated negatively with height (rho = - 0.25, p = 001).

Females with AIS exhibit significantly reduced endurance in both paraspinal and abdominal muscles compared to healthy controls, despite maintaining a similar abdominal-to-paraspinal endurance ratio. The findings suggest the need for trunk muscle endurance evaluation and training in rehabilitation programs for individuals with AIS.