Postural control and trunk imbalance following Cotrel-Dubousset instrumentation for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis

Trunk imbalance following Cotrel-Dubousset instrumentation or other multi-hook systems for scoliosis may be of two types: (1) a mechanical imbalance; or (2) a proprioceptive imbalance. This study addressed the proprioception-related imbalance and demonstrated improvement without intervention within 1 year following implantation. While this imbalance may be significant within the first 6 months following surgery, there is a learned response to the alterations in the spine which corrects the imbalance within 1 year following surgery. Therefore, any changes in surgical planning should not be based on early results. In this series, all patients returned to their pre-operative measurement of trunk balance or better.