Postoperative Segmental Motion of the Unfused Spine Distal to the Fusion in 100 Patients With Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis

In a group of postoperative patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, evaluation of the distal unfused intervertebral motion showed that preservation of vertebral motion segments allowed greater distribution of functional motion across more levels. With each distal fusion level, motion was significantly increased at the L2-L3, L3-L4, and L4-L5 segmental levels in lateral bending. The relationship between the increased motion and subsequent disc degeneration with a more distal fusion is unknown, but suspected.