The analysis of the length and produced force by some trunk muscles of a scoliotic patient using Open-SIMM software during walking with Milwaukee orthosis-A case report

Introduction: Scoliosis is a three dimensional spinal deformity characterized by lateral curvature and rotation of the vertebrea. Various methods have been used to investigate the function of trunk musculature during walking in scoliotic patients wearinganorthosis however, thebiomechanical aspects of the effects of the orthosis onthe length and force production of trunk muscles has not been studied yet. Therefore, the aim of this research is to determine the effect of Milwaukee orthosis on length and force production of some trunk muscles of anscliotic patient during walking. Method: A 12 years old scoliostic girl was recruited in this study. The forces production and length of some trunk musculature and the joint reaction forces of the hip and lumbar joints were studied with and without Milwaukee brace. Open SIMM and Visual 3D software were used to model the subject. Results: The results of this research showed that the length of erector spine muscles increased follow the use of orthosis) 13/27%(.Moreover, the force produced by trunk muscles was different during walking with and without orthosis and also between right and left sides)table 5). Conclusion: Since Open-SIMM software was used for measuring muscle length of peripheral muscles and has not been used for estimating length and force of the trunk muscles in scoliosis cases, the results of this research approved that it can be used to determine the length and active and passive forces of the trunk muscles of scoliotic patients. Therefore, further researches on various samples of patients suffering from scoliosis and on more number of scoliotic subjects is encouraged. Key words: scoliosis, orthosis, kinetics, Opens SIMM