Study design: Prospective single-center study.
Objective: This study aimed to investigate the muscle activity of the trunk, pelvis, and lower limb, which are used to maintain a standing posture in elderly patients with spinal deformities. We also elucidated the mechanism of compensation against spinal deformity in terms of muscle activity.
Methods: Any patient scheduled to undergo surgery for adult spinal deformity was included. Surface electromyography and radiography were performed preoperatively. The following four representative alignments were defined as compensations: 1. pelvic retroversion, 2. reduction in thoracic kyphosis, 3. hyperextension of the lumbosacral junction, and 4. knee flexion. Individual muscle activity was compared with and without compensation. The patients were stratified into three groups according to the severity of spinal compensation, and differences in muscle activity were compared.
Results: This study included 76 patients (7 men and 69 women, average age 69.4 years). Our results revealed that pelvic retroversion and knee flexion were compensations that required trunk muscle activity. In contrast, reduction of thoracic kyphosis and hyperextension of the lumbosacral junction did not require much trunk muscle activity. There was a significant difference in the muscle activity of the pelvis and lower limbs according to the severity of the deformity.
Conclusions: In terms of muscle activity, compensation for regional alignment changes in the adjacent spine is economical. However, extra-spinal compensations, such as pelvic retroversion and knee flexion, are non-economical. According to compensation recruitment, the muscle activity of the pelvis and lower limbs increased with the severity of the spinal deformity.
Keywords: adult spinal deformity; compensatory mechanisms; muscle activity; spino-pelvic parameters; standing posture; surface electromyography.