Correlation of Radiographic and Clinical Findings in Spinal Deformities

Operative treatment for spinal deformities can be undertaken to halt progression of deformity or to treat a patient's clinical complaints. New emerging research using validated health outcomes instruments has begun to investigate which radiographic parameters of spinal deformity correlate with clinical symptoms. Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis tends to present without complaints of pain, and studies have demonstrated that health-related outcomes measures do not correlate with the degree of deformity correction. Clinical complaints in adult scoliosis show a poor correlation with curve magnitude. Studies of adult scoliosis demonstrate that positive sagittal balance is poorly tolerated and correlates with suboptimal health outcomes. Further studies are needed to clarify the clinical significance of radiographic features of spinal deformities further.