Investigation of the relationship between knee proprioception and cobb angle in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients

Scoliosis is defined as a three-dimensional structural deformity of the spine. Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is the most common type of scoliosis. Several factors contribute to the development of scoliosis. Decreased proprioception is among these reasons due to its effects on balance and posture. This study was conducted to examine the relationship between knee joint proprioceptive deficit and Cobb angle. 30 scoliotic and 10 healthy adolescents, aged between 10 and 18, were included in the study. Knee joint proprioceptive deficits of all participants were assessed in the open kinetic chain position with a Dualer IQ inlinometer (J-Tech Medical, Midvale, UT, USA). Surgimap Spine software (Nemaris, New York, USA) was used to measure the Cobb angle of participants with scoliosis. When the knee proprioceptive deficits in the healthy group and the adolescent idiopathic scoliosis group are compared, the knee proprioceptive deficit in the adolescent idiopathic scoliosis group is statistically significantly higher. In our study, it was found that there was a statistically significant (p<0.015) and moderate positive relationship (r: 0.438) between the Cobb angle severity of lumbar curvature and knee proprioceptive deficit. There was no significant relationship between knee proprioceptive deficit and thoracic curvature (p=0.808) or between knee and major curvature angle (p=0.55). In this study, we found that the group with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis had more proprioceptive deficits than healthy controls, however, knee joint proprioceptive deficits and lumbar curvature may affect the prognosis of the Cobb angle. We think that these results will contribute to the routine evaluation of scoliosis and the creation of a treatment plan.