Teens with mild or moderate Cobb angles have lower self-concept score post-conservative therapy
WEDNESDAY, July 6 (HealthDay News) -- Conservative treatment of adolescent scoliosis may decrease self-concept scores, according to a study published in the July 1 issue of Spine.
Jingtao Zhang, M.D., of the General Hospital of Jinan Military Commanding Region in China, and colleagues analyzed the effect of conservative treatment on self-concept in 65 adolescent patients with mild to moderate scoliosis. A group of 22 patients with Cobb angles between 20 and 40 degrees and 18 patients with Cobb angles between 40 and 50 degrees received conservative treatment, and 25 patients who had Cobb angles between 40 and 50 degrees received surgical treatment. Children's Self-Concept Scale was completed by patients at the beginning of the study and at the follow-up visit one year later.
The investigators found that, at the initial assessment, the total self-concept score was significantly higher in the group of patients with Cobb angles between 20 and 40 degrees than in either of the groups with Cobb angles between 40 and 50 degrees. At follow-up, the total self-concept score was significantly increased in the surgically treated group, and decreased in both conservatively treated groups.
"In terms of mental health, conservative treatment is not ideal for patients with mild to moderate scoliosis, and in particular, it is not conducive to mental health in patients with Cobb angles between 40 degrees and 50 degrees," the authors write.
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