title: Can future back pain in AIS subjects be predicted during adolescence from the severity of the deformity?
abstract: Back pain is frequently reported as a symptom of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Prediction of pain in adulthood would be useful to identify subjects requiring follow-up. The aim is to determine adolescent predictors of adult back pain. This study is a retrospective review of 27 females with AIS who attended our pediatric scoliosis clinic and later completed the SRS-22 questionnaire as young adults (range 18-25 years). Subjects with surgery at baseline (age 14-16 years) were excluded. The relationships between largest curve size, decompensation and trunk twist at baseline and pain as measured by the SRS-22 pain domain as young adults were studied. At baseline, subjects had a largest curve of 47+/-15 degrees , decompensation of 18+/-14 mm and trunk twist of 14+/-6 degrees . At follow-up, 5.3+/-1.9 years later, the total SRS-22 score was 3.9+/-0.3 and the pain domain score was 3.9+/-0.7. Pearson correlations between the SRS-22 pain domain and largest curve, decompensation and trunk twist were 0.17, -0.11 and -0.25, respectively (p>0.05). Individual questions within the pain domain had similar correlations. Even though the sample represented a wide range of scoliosis severity at baseline and a wide range of pain scores (2.4 to 5) at follow-up, baseline scoliosis deformity parameters of largest curve size, decompensation and trunk twist did not predict scoliosis-related pain in young adulthood.
authors.affiliation: Capital Health, Glenrose Site, 10230 111 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB, T5G 0B7, Canada.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Parent
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lou
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mahood
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001416:Back Pain / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D011379:Prognosis; D011788:Quality of Life; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012600:Scoliosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D013121:Spinal Curvatures; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires