Efficacy of corrective spinal orthoses on gait and energy consumption in scoliosis subjects: a literature review.

BACKGROUND: Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is a progressive growth disease that affects spinal anatomy, mobility, and left-right trunk symmetry. As a consequence, AIS can modify human gait. Spinal orthoses are a commonly used conservative method for the treatment of AIS.

OBJECTIVE: This review evaluated the AIS spinal orthosis literature that involved gait and energy consumption evaluations.

STUDY DESIGN: Literature review.

METHOD: According to the population intervention comparison outcome measure methods and based on selected keywords, 10 studies met the inclusion criteria.

RESULTS: People with AIS who wore a spinal orthosis, compared with able-bodied participants, walked slower with decreased hip and pelvic movements, decreased hip mediolateral forces, ground reaction force asymmetry, and excessive energy cost. Pelvis and hip frontal plane motion decreased when wearing an orthosis. Hip and pelvis movement symmetry improved when using an orthosis. Ankle and foot kinematics did not change with orthotic intervention. People with AIS continued to have excessive energy expenditure with an orthosis.

CONCLUSION: Spinal orthoses may be considered for improving the walking style, although energy cost does not decline following the orthotic intervention. Implications for Rehabilitations Problems related to scoliosis include reduced quality of life, disability, pain, postural alterations, sensory perturbations, standing instability and gait modifications. Wearing corrective spinal orthoses in AIS subjects produce a reduction in walking speed and cadence, increase in stride length and reduction of gait load asymmetry compared to without brace condition. Spinal orthoses do not decline excessive energy expenditure to walk versus without it.