Turkish Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2017 , Vol 63 , Num 3

Side differences of the lateral abdominal wall in supine rest position mild adolescent idiopathic thoracolumbar scoliosis

Pawel Linek 1 ,Tomasz Wolny 1 ,Edward Saulicz 1 ,Andrzej Mysliwiec 1
1 Department of Kinesitherapy and Special Methods in Physiotherapy, The Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education in Katowice, Katowice, Poland DOI : 10.5606/tftrd.2017.333 Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the thickness of the abdominal muscles on both sides in patients with mild adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) and to assess the absolute and relative thickness of oblique external (OE), oblique internal (OI), and transversus abdominis (TrA).

Patients and methods: A total of 84 participants underwent ultrasonographic examination of the abdominal muscles in the supine resting position. All participants were divided into two groups including AIS group (n=42) and control group (n=42). The absolute and relative thicknesses of OE, OI, and TrA were recorded.

Results: In the AIS group, the TrA on the left side was significantly thicker by 0.30 mm (95% CI 0.01-0.7) than the right side. For relative values, the percentage contribution to the structure of the lateral abdominal wall of the OE on the right and the TrA on the left was significantly higher by 3.2% (95% CI 0.9-5.5) and 3.1% (95% CI 1.1-5.0), respectively, in the AIS group.

Conclusion: Our study results show that, in the supine resting position, the muscles of the lateral abdominal wall are thinner in AIS patients. In addition, side-to-side differences in the percentage contribution of the OE and TrA to the structure of the lateral abdominal wall are seen in this patient population, although these differences are independent of the direction of the scoliosis. Keywords : Abdominal muscles; scoliosis; ultrasonography