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The article focuses on non-invasive procedures, including fixed plumb line measurements, Spine 3D analysis, and Infrared Thermography (IRT), for evaluating and monitoring Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) as an alternative to conventional X-rays.

Background: The interest in infrared thermography (IRT) applied to the human body is increasing in the last few years, considering the non-invasive and risk-free nature of the exam. With the IRT it is possible to analyze all the visible regions of interest (ROI) of the human body and evaluate, by analyzing the temperature, their metabolic and vascular activities and possible asymmetries. Aim: the aim of this study is to use the IRT to evaluate the thermal profile of the back of healthy subjects and relate it to the type of sport practiced. Methods: The spines of 54 participants considered healthy after careful clinical evaluation were evaluated, 14 female and 40 male, mean age of 22.3 (2.1), mean height 169.6 (9.5), mean weight 66.2 (13.4) and mean BMI of 22.8. Participants were divided into three groups by sport practiced: Fitness (F), Soccer (C), Dance (D). Thermal images were acquired with a professional FlirE60 IRT (Wilsonville, OR, USA) and three representative ROI of the cervical, thoracic and lumbar regions were identified. The statistical analysis used were the Shapiro-Wilk test to evaluate normality and Anova analysis with a post hoc Tukey test to compare groups. Results: The data were normally distributed. Anova analysis was statistically significant for cervical (p<0.001), dorsal (p<0.001) and lumbar (p<0.01) area between groups. Furthermore, Tukey post hoc test showed significant differences between soccer players (temperature 34.32° SD=0.72°) and dancers (temperature 33.36° SD=0.97°) (p < 0.01), dancers and fitness (temperature 34.68° SD=0.96°) (p<0.001) for the cervical area. Significance was also found between the dorsal area of subjects practicing fitness (temperature 34.0° SD=1.03°) and dancers (temperature 32.71° SD= 0.92°) (p <0.001) and subjects practicing dance and football (temperature 33.70 SD=0.88°) (p<0.05). A statistically significant difference was found for the lumbar region only between dancers (temperature 32.17° SD=1.28°) and fitness group (temperature 33.32° SD=1.33°) (p<0.01). Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that defines the thermal profile of the back of healthy subjects and classifies it according to the type of sport practiced. From the statistical analysis it emerged that dancers had a statistically lower cervical average temperature than the other groups while for the dorsal tract, the fitness group had a statistically higher average temperature than the other groups. Significant differences were found for the lumbar region, but only between dancers and fitness group. These differences can be explained considering the muscles involved in the specific technical gestures of the discipline. These results will be useful for the future evaluation of thermal patterns in subjects with alterations caused by musculoskeletal pathologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is defined as a three-dimensional spine deformity with a multifactorial etiology involving genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. The clinical evaluation of AIS is based on the anterior trunk flexion test, Adams test, and the measurement of the hump that occurs through the scoliometer. Currently, the gold standard for diagnosing scoliosis is radiography. It is configured as disease identification and monitoring method; however, the use of radiography is associated with awareness of the potential adverse effects of exposure to x-rays. In this context, several non-invasive methods have been introduced with high reliability in evaluating scoliosis. Infrared thermography (IRT) is a non-invasive method that provides information on the body’s thermal, metabolic and vascular conditions in the area of interest. It is effective for assessing asymmetries in temperature distribution, making it versatile in monitoring scoliosis throughout its course. The muscles of the convex side of scoliosis are characterized by a more intense electromyographic activity than the concave side, the thermography analyzing the temperature radiated by the muscles can compute the present asymmetries. Aim: This study aimed to analyze the thermal differences of the back surface between the convex and concave sides of scoliotic individuals compared with non-scoliotic individuals. Methods: A sample of 48 individuals with and without adolescent idiopathic scoliosis diagnosed by radiography was collected. We used infrared thermography, FLIR E54, to assess the presence of asymmetrical muscle activity. For the statistical analysis, ANOVA and Tukey’s test were employed to analyze the temperature of the trapezius, latissimus dorsi, and quadratus lumborum muscles, dividing the individuals by topography of scoliosis, i.e., thoracic scoliosis, thoracolumbar scoliosis, and individuals without scoliosis. Results: The mean age of the sample is 12.2 ± 2.29 years, height 153 ± 13.4 cm, weight 48.0 ± 13.5 kg. In the group with thoracic scoliosis, the diff erential (Δ) of the mean temperature of the trapezius muscle is 0.47 ° C ± 0.16 ° C, Δ of the latissimus dorsi is 0.37 ± 0.30, Δ of the quadratus lumborum is 0.63 ± 0.35. In the group with thoracolumbar scoliosis, Δ of the trapezius muscle is 0.19 ° C ± 0.22 ° C, Δ of the latissimus dorsi is 0.42 ± 0.21, Δ of the quadratus lumborum is 0.49 ± 0.26. In the group without scoliosis, Δ of the trapezius muscle is 0.09 ° C ± 0.09 ° C, Δ of the latissimus dorsi muscle is 0.12 ° C ± 0.09 ° C, Δ of the quadratus lumborum is 0.21 ° C ± 0.27 ° C. Conclusion: The hypothesis that the IRT analysis differs in individuals with thoracic, thoracolumbar scoliosis, and without scoliosis was confirmed. In individuals with scoliosis, the convex side always has a higher surface temperature than the convex side. Furthermore, the topographic classifi cation can guide clinicians toward a precise IRT analysis of scoliosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]