Visual and Vestibular Impairment and Idiopathic Scoliosis – are They Related?

Scoliosis is a tri-dimensional lateral curvature of the spine of 10° or more, with a rotational component. The most common form of scoliosis in the population is adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). As its name states, it has no known direct cause, even if, over time some evidence for multiple linked causes has been provided

There is some evidence accumulated pointing to an association between AIS and posture control, where vision and vestibular systems are both involved

We analysed the links between the curvature of the spine, its evolution and possible visual and vestibular impairment on 44 children with scoliosis.

A postural aetiology of scoliosis in the visually and vestibular impaired population could be implied, since all the cases that could be defined as scoliosis and not as a scoliotic attitude (Cobb > 10º) were positive for the Fukuda Stepping Test and more than 60% of the patients that had a Cobb angle value higher than 15º had a type of visual impairment (myopia).