title: Health status of adults treated for 1st degree scoliosis at school age.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Abnormal body alignment may lead to the development of spinal overload syndromes, nerve root irritation, pain, impaired ventilation, and compromise of exercise capacity.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the study was to find out whether low degree scoliosis impairs breathing, reduces exercise capacity and produces back pain over time.
  
  
  METHODS
  Respiratory function, exercise capacity (PWC170) and pain intensity (Jackson and Moskowitz regimen) were assessed in 39 adults aged 19 to 38 years diagnosed with low degree scoliosis (10-280) several years ago. A group of 43 controls with no scoliosis in adolescence was also examined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no progression of the curvature after the treatment in the scoliosis group. Spirometric parameters in this group were slightly lower than in the controls, although there was no evidence of the restrictive type of respiratory disorder, which was found in only 5.1% patients. PWC170 test results were significantly lower (by about 20%) than in controls, and 84.6% of the subjects reported intermittent, occasional, or frequent pain, mostly lumbar and associated with the work performed. In 12.8% of cases, the pain interfered with breathing. In about half of the group, pain occurred after exertion and caused limitation of activity, while in the remaining subjects it did not affect daily activities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  1) low degree scoliosis generally did not cause restrictive impairment of ventilation; 2) adults with established low degree scoliosis demonstrated impaired exercise capacity, in the form of reduced PWC170 scores; 3) the presence of low degree scoliosis at school age was associated with back pain in adulthood.
authors: Division of Foundations of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Physiotherapy, Higher School of Administration in Bielsko-Biała, Poland. olga.nc@interia.pl
authors: Olga
authors: O
authors: Nowotny-Czupryna
authors: Anna
authors: A
authors: Kowalczyk
authors: Krzysztof
authors: K
authors: Czupryna
authors: Janusz
authors: J
authors: Nowotny
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000209:etiology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012123:Pulmonary Ventilation; D012064:Relaxation Therapy / Q000379:methods; D012138:Respiratory Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D012600:Scoliosis / Q000150:complications / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult