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Joint hypermobility in school-aged children and adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis – A chance for more accurate screening?

Introduction and Objective. Joint hypermobility (JH) can be diagnosed in the case of increased range of joint mobility and the absence of systemic diseases. Lack of stability of the spinal joints is mentioned as one of the possible causes of scoliosis. Simplicity of hypermobility examination could help identify children at higher risk of developing scoliosis. The aim of this study was to assess JH prevalence in children with idiopathic scoliosis and to analyse coincidence of joint hypermobility, scoliosis features, age, gender and bone maturity. Materials and method. The case-control study enrolled 125 children aged 7–18 years (mean 13.2 ± 2; Cobb angle range 10 °–53 °; mean 24.3 ± 11.7) diagnosed with idiopathic scoliosis. The control group included 83 volunteers. The Beighton scale was used to determine joint hypermobility. The relationship between joint hypermobility and scoliosis was tested. Secondly, hypermobility prevalence according to age, gender, curve severity, number of curvatures and Risser sign in scoliosis group was summarised. Data were compared by Student’s t-test, U Mann-Whitney, chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test where appropriate. P <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results. JH was diagnosed in 64 (51.2%) scoliotic patients and in 34 (41%) control group children. The difference found was not statistically significant (p = 0.148). No significant difference was found comparing scoliosis subgroups with curve size cut-off point from 20 degrees, single/double curve scoliosis, male/female gender, age cut- off point 13,2 years of age, and Risser test score 0–2/3–5. Conclusions. This study shows that children with JH features do not have a statistically significant increased risk of scoliosis co-diagnosis.