Brace treatment is the most common noninvasive treatment in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS); however it is currently not fully known whether there is a difference in effectiveness between brace types/concepts. All studies on brace treatment for AIS were searched for in PubMed and EMBASE up to January 2021. Articles that did not report on maturity of the study population were excluded. Critical appraisal was performed using the Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies tool (MINORS). Brace concepts were distinguished in prescribed wearing time and rigidity of the brace: full-time, part-time, and night-time, rigid braces and soft braces. In the meta-analysis, success was defined as ≤5° curve progression during follow-up. Of the 33 selected studies, 11 papers showed high risk of bias. The rigid full-time brace had on average a success rate of 73.2% (95% CI 61–86%), night-time of 78.7% (72–85%), soft braces of 62.4% (55–70%), observation only of 50% (44–56%). There was insufficient evidence on part-time wear for the meta-analysis. The majority of brace studies have significant risk of bias. No significant difference in outcome between the night-time or full-time concepts could be identified. Soft braces have a lower success rate compared to rigid braces. Bracing for scoliosis in Risser 0–2 and 0–3 stage of maturation appeared most effective.

Objective: The introduction of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) has significantly improved the life‐span of Hurler patients (mucopolysaccharidosis type I‐H, MPS I‐H). Yet, the musculoskeletal manifestations seem largely unresponsive to HSCT. In order to facilitate evidence based management, the aim of the current study was to give a systematic overview of the orthopaedic complications and motor functioning of Hurler's patients after HSCT.Methods: A systematic review was conducted of the medical literature published from January 1981 to June 2010. Two reviewers independently assessed all eligible citations, as identified from the Pubmed and Embase databases. A pre‐developed data extraction form was used to systematically collect information on the prevalence of radiological and clinical signs, and on the orthopaedic treatments and outcomes.Results: A total of 32 studies, including 399 patient reports were identified. The most frequent musculoskeletal abnormalities were odontoid hypoplasia (72%), thoracolumbar kyphosis (81%), genu valgum (70%), hip dysplasia (90%) and carpal tunnel syndrome (63%), which were often treated surgically during the first decade of life. The overall complication rate of surgical interventions was 13.5%. Motor functioning was further hampered due to reduced joint mobility, hand dexterity, motor development and longitudinal growth.Conclusion: Stem cell transplantation does not halt the progression of a large range of disabling musculoskeletal abnormalities in Hurler's disease. Although prospective data on the quantification, progression and treatment of these deformities were very limited, early surgical intervention is often advocated. Prospective data collection will be mandatory to achieve better evidence on the effect of treatment strategies.

In the anatomy of a normal spine, due to the curvatures in various regions, the C7 plumb line (C7PL) passes through the sacrum so that the head is centered over the pelvic-ball and socket hip and ankle joints. A failure to recognize malalignment in the sagittal plane can affect the patient's activity as well as social interaction due to deficient forward gaze. The sagittal balance configuration leads to the body undertaking the least muscular activities as possible necessary to maintain spinal balance. Global sagittal imbalance is energy consuming and often results in painful compensatory mechanisms that in turn negatively influence the patient's quality of life, self-image, and social interaction due to inability to maintain a horizontal gaze. Deformity, scoliosis, kyphosis, trauma, and/or surgery are some ways that this optimal configuration can be disturbed, thus requiring higher muscular activity to maintain posture and balance. Several parameters such as the thoracic kyphosis (TK), lumbar lordosis (LL), pelvic incidence (PI), sacral slope (SS), and hip and leg positions influence the sagittal balance and thus the optimal configuration of spinal alignment. This review examines the clinical and biomechanical aspects of spinal imbalance, and the biomechanics of spinal balance as dictated by deformities—ankylosing spondylitis (AS), scoliosis and kyphosis; surgical corrections—pedicle subtraction osteotomies (PSO), long segment stabilizations, and consequent postural complications like proximal and distal junctional kyphosis. The study of the biomechanics involved in spinal imbalance is relatively new and thus the literature is rather sparse. This review suggests several potential research topics in the area of spinal biomechanics.

Background: Lumbar interbody fusion (IF) is a common procedure to fuse the anterior spine. However, a lack of consensus on image-based fusion assessment limits the validity and comparison of IF studies. This systematic review aims to (1) report on IF assessment strategies and definitions and (2) summarize available literature on the diagnostic reliability and accuracy of these assessments. Methods: Two searches were performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines. Search 1 identified studies on adult lumbar IF that provided a detailed description of image-based fusion assessment. Search 2 analyzed studies on the reliability of specific fusion criteria/classifications and the accuracy assessed with surgical exploration. Results: A total of 442 studies were included for search 1 and 8 studies for search 2. Fusion assessment throughout the literature was highly variable. Eighteen definitions and more than 250 unique fusion assessment methods were identified. The criteria that showed most consistent use were continuity of bony bridging, radiolucency around the cage, and angular motion <5°. However, reliability and accuracy studies were scarce. Conclusion: This review highlights the challenges in reaching consensus on IF assessment. The variability in IF assessment is very high, which limits the translatability of studies. Accuracy studies are needed to guide innovations of assessment. Future IF assessment strategies should focus on the standardization of computed tomography–based continuity of bony bridging. Knowledge from preclinical and imaging studies can add valuable information to this ongoing discussion. Level of Evidence: Diagnostic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Background: The sagittal-plane curvatures of the human spine are the consequence of evolution from quadrupedalism to bipedalism and are needed to maintain the center of mass of the body within the base of support in the bipedal position. Lumbar degenerative disorders can lead to a decrease in lumbar lordosis and thereby affect overall alignment of the spine. However, there is not yet enough direct evidence that surgical restoration of spinal malalignment would lead to a better clinical outcome. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the correlation between patient-reported outcomes and actual obtained spinal sagittal alignment in adult patients with lumbar degenerative disorders who underwent surgical treatment. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted through databases (PubMed, Cochrane, Web of Science, and Embase). The last search was in November 2018. Risk of bias was assessed with the Newcastle-Ottawa quality assessment scale. A meta-regression analysis was performed. Results: Of 2,024 unique articles in the original search, 34 articles with 973 patients were included. All studies were either retrospective or prospective cohort studies; no randomized controlled trials were available. A total of 54 relations between preoperative-to-postoperative improvement in patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and radiographic spinopelvic parameters were found, of which 20 were eligible for meta-regression analysis. Of these, 2 correlations were significant: pelvic tilt (PT) versus Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) (p = 0.009) and PT versus visual analog scale (VAS) pain (p = 0.008). Conclusions: On the basis of the current literature, lower PT was significantly correlated with improved ODI and VAS pain in patients with sagittal malalignment caused by lumbar degenerative disorders that were treated with surgical correction of the sagittal balance. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.