Sir,
As the upper torso and the spine are supported by the pelvic girdle and the lower limbs, a deformity of the spine will certainly affect the gait. While gait changes have been previously reported in patients who have undergone long spinal fusions, relatively little abnormalities have been found in most of the common gait parameters in patients with untreated idiopathic scoliosis. The authors of the present paper have performed a very comprehensive analysis of the gait and the ground reaction forces in a small but homogenous group of patients. They have identified a definite asymmetry in the torsional offset of the trunk in relation to the rotating pelvis in the transverse plane which is not related to the severity of the curve or changed by bracing.
Although these findings are interesting and unique, this study is limited by the small sample size and the large variation of patients’ age, curve magnitude, and curve types. Also, they have not correlated the findings with the flexibility of the curve which could affect the dynamic asymmetries and movement strategies. The results are also not able to shine light on one of the proposed goals of the study of whether the asymmetry is the cause or effect of the scoliosis. As such, the clinical value of this paper is still to be seen. Nevertheless, the authors should be commended on this good work and be encouraged to pursue further studies in this field.