Association of Various Spinopelvic Parameters and the Quality of Life in Those With Degenerative Lumbar Scoliosis in the Indian Population

Purpose The current study aimed to find any association between various spinopelvic parameters and the quality of life in patients with degenerative lumbar scoliosis (DLS) measured as per the Oswestry disability index (ODI) and visual analog scale (VAS) in the Indian population. Methods We included 20 DLS patients of more than 40 years with a Cobb angle of more than 10 degrees and without any trauma, tumour, infection, or congenital scoliosis presented in our tertiary care centre in the study. The VAS and ODI were calculated for each patient. Radiological parameters were recorded for every patient, including sagittal balance, coronal balance, Cobb angle, pelvic incidence, pelvic tilt, and lumbar lordotic angle. We evaluated the results and sought any association between clinical and radiological variables for DLS. Results Patients with positive sagittal balance had significantly higher disability than those with neutral sagittal balance (p-value 0.007). Furthermore, patients with coronal imbalance had more severe pain (p-value 0.013) and disability (p-value 0.038) than those with neutral coronal balance. We also found that the ODI and VAS were not associated with any other spinopelvic parameters. Conclusion From the present study, we can conclude that in the Indian population, both positive sagittal and coronal imbalances are associated with poor functional status in patients with DLS. Therefore, while planning surgical correction for these patients, both coronal and sagittal balance are important and need to be considered.