Ultrasonic morphological characteristics of superficial and deep thoracolumbar paraspinal muscles in patients with moderate adolescent idiopathic scoliosis
10.3969/j.issn.1004-406X.2025.04.05
- VernacularTitle:中度青少年特发性脊柱侧凸胸腰背部浅层与深层椎旁肌超声形态特征
- Author:
Shanshan ZHANG
1
;
Yanjun WANG
;
Zhiwei LIAN
;
Yi XU
;
Binbin YANG
;
Qiuli LIANG
;
Chuhuai WANG
Author Information
1. 中山大学附属第一医院康复医学科 510080广州市
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis;
Paraspinal muscles;
Erector spinae;
Multifidus;
Musculoskeletal ultrasound;
Morphology
- From:
Chinese Journal of Spine and Spinal Cord
2025;35(4):366-375
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objectives:To explore the morphological changes of the superficial and deep thoraolumbar paraspinal muscles on both convex and concave sides during rest and contraction states in patients with mod-erate adolescent idiopathic scoliosis(AIS),and their effects on scoliosis angle,to analyze the relations between scoliosis angle and the morphological changes of paraspinal muscles.Methods:21 AIS patients(thoracic Cobb angle 20°-45°,S-shaped with the main curve in thoracic segment,4 males and 17 females,aged 13.9±1.6 years old)treated in our hospital from July 2020 to December 2023 and 21 healthy subjects(7 males and 14 females,aged 14.6±1.4 years old)were prospectively enrolled.The morphological data of thoracolumbar paraspinal muscles were collected with musculoskeletal ultrasound,including the resting thickness and thick-ness during maximum voluntary isometric contraction(MVIC)of superficial erector spinae(ES)and multifidus(MF)muscles of AIS patients on both convex and concave sides(left and right sides of healthy controls).The differences in resting thickness,contraction thickness,change rate of contraction thickness,and total resting thickness and total contraction thickness(ES+MF)of superficial and deep thoracolumbar paravertebral muscles between the two groups were analyzed,and the structural characteristics of the thoracolumbar paravertebral muscles on the convex and concave sides of AIS were analyzed.The correlation between Cobb angle in tho-racolumbar segment and morphological indexes(resting thickness,contraction thickness change rates)of ES and MF muscles was analyzed,and the influence of scoliosis severity on the morphology of superficial and deep paravertebral muscle was further analyzed.Results:In AIS patients,the mean thoracic Cobb angle were 31.62°±7.68°,and mean lumbar Cobb angle were 19.52°±6.48°.Comparing with healthy controls,patients with AIS were significantly different in resting thickness,contraction thickness and thickness change rates of tho-racic paraspinal muscles on both convex and concave sides,and the resting thickness of ES in thoracic seg-ment on concave side was less than that on the convex side,which of MF was less on the convex side than on the concave side(P<0.01).The contraction thickness of thoracic MF muscles on the convex and concave sides in S-type AIS patients was smaller than that in healthy controls(P<0.05),while the contraction thickness of thoracic ES muscles on the convex and concave side wasn't statistically different from that of healthy con-trols,and the contraction thickness change rate of ES muscles on the convex and MF on the concave side of thoracic segment in AIS patients was significantly decreased(P<0.05).There was no significant difference in the total resting thickness of thoracic(convex and concave)paravertebral muscles(ES+MF)between AIS patients and the corresponding segments(left and right)of control group(P>0.05),and there was no statistically signifi-cant difference in the total resting thickness of thoracic paravertebral muscle between the convex and concave sides of AIS patients(P>0.05).The total contraction thickness of thoracic paravertebral muscle(ES+MF)in AIS patients was lower than that in control group(P<0.05).Compared with the control group,the resting thickness,contraction thickness and thickness change rate of lumbar MF muscle on the convex and concave sides in AIS patients were significantly reduced(P<0.05),and the contraction thickness change rate of the lumbar ES muscle on the concave side was less than that of the control group(P<0.05).There were no significant differ-ences in resting thickness and contraction thickness between the convex and concave paravertebral muscles in AIS patients(P>0.05).The total resting thickness(ES+MF)and total contraction thickness(ES+MF)of lumbar(convex and concave)paraspinal muscles in AIS patients were lower than those in control group(P<0.05).There was a significant negative correlation between the Cobb angle of the main thoracic curve and the rest-ing thickness of the thoracic MF muscle on the concave and the change rate of the contraction thickness of the thoracic ES muscle on the convex in S-type AIS patients(r=-0.53/-0.45,P<0.05).There was no signifi-cant correlation between the Cobb angle of lumbar segment and the change rates of the resting thickness and contraction thickness of ES and MF muscles on both convex and concave sides(P>0.05).Conclusions:In pa-tients with moderate S-type AIS,there are different muscle morphological changes in the paraspinal muscles on both convex and concave sides of the main thoracic curve,and the concave paravertebral muscle is more affected by scoliosis;The contraction function of the bilateral deep core stabilizing muscles in the lumbar re-gion is markedly decreased.Different patterns of superficial and deep muscle atrophy and contractility decline may be a key cause of spinal movement disorder and scoliosis progression in AIS patients.