Do your own research
I would be careful to discredit someones work without giving good back up research to support your opinion.
There seems to be a number of research articles connecting scoliosis to a vestibular problem.
I think that the additional cost to evaluate the vestibular system is worth doing, based on my readings.
For example i found this paper
ARE ASYMMETRIC OTOLITH VESTIBULO-OCULAR REPONSES A
PREDICTIVE FACTOR FOR IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS IN CHILDREN?
Sylvette R. Wiener-Vacher, and Dominique Antolini., Nn. 1
In idiopathic scoliosis spinal deformities start to develop at the time of the initial rapid growth at the
onset of puberty. A suggested cause of IS is a disequilibrium in the otolith vestibular control of the trunk
muscles. Supporting this hypothesis our previous results (2) showed that 67% of children with IS, but no
other inner ear or neurological abnormalities, had an asymmetry of their otolith vestibulo-ocular reponses
to the Off Vertical Axis Rotation test. These were significatively greater than in a control age-matched
group of normal children. We suggested that this asymmetry was a central otolith vestibular system
disorder and could lead to a vestibulospinal system imbalance, which would then provoke IS.
The goal of this study was to determine if this asymmetry exists prior to the appearance of the spinal
deformities.
Our preliminary results show that the vestibulo-ocular asymmetry appears before the spine starts to show
any significant clinical and radiological deformity.
In patients at risk for IS (e.g. a family with IS history) screening for otolith functional asymmetry could
be used as predictive factor of scoliosis and help for earlier prescription of IS preventative treatment.
1
Thanks to the Cotrel Foundation (Fondation de France) for supporting this research.
2 S.R. Wiener-Vacher, K. Mazda. Asymmetric otolith vestibulo-ocular responses in children with
idiopathic scoliosis. J. Pediatr 1998 ;132:1028-1032.
Originally posted by Celia Vogel
I would be careful to discredit someones work without giving good back up research to support your opinion.
There seems to be a number of research articles connecting scoliosis to a vestibular problem.
I think that the additional cost to evaluate the vestibular system is worth doing, based on my readings.
For example i found this paper
ARE ASYMMETRIC OTOLITH VESTIBULO-OCULAR REPONSES A
PREDICTIVE FACTOR FOR IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS IN CHILDREN?
Sylvette R. Wiener-Vacher, and Dominique Antolini., Nn. 1
In idiopathic scoliosis spinal deformities start to develop at the time of the initial rapid growth at the
onset of puberty. A suggested cause of IS is a disequilibrium in the otolith vestibular control of the trunk
muscles. Supporting this hypothesis our previous results (2) showed that 67% of children with IS, but no
other inner ear or neurological abnormalities, had an asymmetry of their otolith vestibulo-ocular reponses
to the Off Vertical Axis Rotation test. These were significatively greater than in a control age-matched
group of normal children. We suggested that this asymmetry was a central otolith vestibular system
disorder and could lead to a vestibulospinal system imbalance, which would then provoke IS.
The goal of this study was to determine if this asymmetry exists prior to the appearance of the spinal
deformities.
Our preliminary results show that the vestibulo-ocular asymmetry appears before the spine starts to show
any significant clinical and radiological deformity.
In patients at risk for IS (e.g. a family with IS history) screening for otolith functional asymmetry could
be used as predictive factor of scoliosis and help for earlier prescription of IS preventative treatment.
1
Thanks to the Cotrel Foundation (Fondation de France) for supporting this research.
2 S.R. Wiener-Vacher, K. Mazda. Asymmetric otolith vestibulo-ocular responses in children with
idiopathic scoliosis. J. Pediatr 1998 ;132:1028-1032.
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