SPORTS
MEDICINE REHABILITATION SECTION
BALANCE
STRATEGIES IN ADOLESCENS ATHLETES WITH IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS
Tsermakian
T, Nousios G, Mitsakis I, Lyrtzis C, Evagelinou C.
Department of Physical Education
and Sports Science, Serres, A.U.Th., Greece
INTRODUCTION.
Idiopathic
scoliosis constitutes 80% of all cases of scoliosis. The idiopathic
scoliosis may affect the balance control. The aim of this study was to
explore the functional effects of structural spinal deformations like
idiopathic scoliosis on the balance strategies used during locomotion.
MATERIALS-METHODS.
15 athletes, 12 women and 3 men, (mean age 15 years and 3 months) with
curvature between 10 and 30 degrees and 14 control subjects, 12 women
and 2 men (mean age 15 years 1 month) were tested during various
locomotor tasks including walking on the ground, walking on a line and
walking on a beam. Balance control was examined in terms of rotation
about the vertical axis (yaw) and on a frontal plane (roll). Kinematics
of foot, pelvis, trunk, shoulder, and head rotations were measured with
an automatic optical TV image processor in order to calculate angular
dispersions and segmental stabilizations.
RESULTS.
Decreasing the
walking speed is the main adaptive strategy used in response to balance
problems in control subjects as well as athletes with AIS. However,
athletes with AIS performed walking tasks more slowly than normal
subjects. Moreover, the pelvic stabilization is preserved, despite the
structural changes affecting the spine. The biomechanical defect
resulting from idiopathic scoliosis mainly affects the yaw head
stabilization during locomotion.
CONCLUSIONS. Athletes with
AIS show substantial similarities with control subjects in adaptive
strategies relative to balance control based on segmental
stabilization. In contrast, the loss of the yaw head stabilization
strategies, mainly based on the use of vestibular information, probably
reflects the presence of vestibular deficits in the patients with AIS.
KEY
WORDS: balance
strategies, adolescents, athletes, idiopathic scoliosis.
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