Teenagers’ perceptions of their scoliotic curves. An observational study of comparison between sports people and non- sports people

Background. Idiopathic scoliosis is a disease caused by a deformity of the spine and is frequently found during adolescence. Sports, and so the training of motor skills and proprioception, could have a positive influence on the perception of the body schema and scoliotic deformity. Methods. We designed an observational study in which we recruited young patients with scoliosis. Analysis of the scoliotic radiographic curve was conducted with specific radiograph examination. The giving of the spine silhouette to the patient allowed the patient to quantify his/her perception of the scoliotic curve. Results. We recruited 106 young patients with scoliosis (mean age: 14.1 ± 2.2 years; age range: 8-18 years), with at least one scoliotic curve. 37.7% of the sample performed one or more of the following sporting activities: swimming, dance, gym, football, volleyball, martial arts, tennis and athletics. 34.8% of the sedentary patients reported that they did not sense their existing scoliotic curve compared to 17.5% of those who did sports (p=0.05). Conclusion. There exists a circular relationship between physical activity, physical self-concept and motorial abilities. However, there did not emerge a greater perception of young athletes compared to sedentary adolescent regarding the characteristics of their own column.