The Prevalence of Scoliosis in Adolescent Swimmers and the Effect of Swimming on Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis
Canan Gönen Aydın1
, Ali Öner2, Hanife Hale Hekim3, Aynur Sevgi Arslan4, Dilek Öztaş5, Yunus Emre Akman6
1Sports Medicine Division, Metin Sabancı Baltalimanı Bone Diseases Education and Research Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey
2Orthopedics And Traumatology Clinic, Metin Sabancı Baltalimanı Bone Diseases Education and Research Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey
3Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinic, Antalya Education and Research Hospital, University of Health Sciences, Antalya, Turkey
4Sports Medicine Division, Tepecik Education and Research Hospital, University of Health Sciences, İzmir, Turkey
5Department of Public Health,Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Ankara, Turkey
6Orthopedics And Traumatology Clinic, Florence Nightingale Hospital,İstanbul Bilim University, İstanbul, Turkey
Keywords: Scoliosis, swimming, radiological evaluation
Abstract
Objective: The patients are frequently referred to swimming for conservative follow-up and treatment of scoliosis. However, there are also studies reporting high scoliosis prevalence in swimmers. The aim of this study is to define the scoliosis incidence in adolescent swimmers and evaluate the effect of swimming on radiological parameters in swimmers with scoliosis.
Material and Methods: The medical reports of the swimmers who have applied to sports medicine outpatient clinic in our institution for license renewal were retrospectively reviewed. The swimmers with positive Adam’s forward bending tests determined during physical examination were subjected to radiological evaluation and the whole spine was evaluated with anteroposterior and lateral orthoroentgenograms. The swimmers were demanded to continue swimming and called for follow up 1 year later. The swimmers with scoliosis who continued swimming and applied for follow-up one year later were evaluated radiologically.
Results: Six hundred and seventy-nine swimmers were examined. Twenty eight (4.1%) swimmers, [11 male (39%), 17 female (61%); mean age 12.6 (min 10, max 17) years] with positive Adam’s bending test were further evaluated radiologically. These swimmers were called for follow up 1 year later. Seventeen swimmers who continued swimming and applied for follow up were evaluated radiologically. Sagittal and coronal plan parameters of the spine were measured on the first and the second radiographs. These parameters were compared statistically. There was no statistically significant difference among proximal thoracic, main thoracic, main lumbar curves and thoracic kyphosis and lumbar lordosis degrees on the first and the follow-up radiographs of the athletes who continued swimming.
Conclusions: Swimming was found to have no effect on spinal sagittal plane parameters in swimmers with scoliosis. Moreover we found that it has not provided any improvement or stability also in the coronal plane deformity after 1 year follow up. According to our results, it may be concluded that swimming is not effective in the conservative treatment of scoliosis.
Cite this article as: Gonen Aydin C, Oner A, Hekim HH, Arslan AS, Oztas D, Akman YE. The prevalence of scoliosis in adolescent swimmers and the effect of swimming on adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Turk J Sports Med. 2020;55(3):200-6.
