fNIRS-based Analysis and Evaluation of the Effect of Schroth Rehabilitation on Motor Functions in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS)

Overview

This study investigates the effects of Schroth-based rehabilitation on cortical dynamics, body awareness, and quality of life in individuals with Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS). Using fNIRS technology, motor control processes will be monitored, and the impact of rehabilitation on brain activity will be assessed. A total of 30 participants (15 healthy and 15 with AIS), aged 8-16, will be examined, with pre- and post-rehabilitation comparisons. Measurements will include static posture, Y-Balance Test, Schroth walking, and brain activity recordings. SPM analysis will be used to assess brain signals, and quality of life and cosmetic deformity perception will be statistically evaluated. The findings will contribute to the integration of neuroimaging into rehabilitation assessment, helping to develop more effective treatment strategies.

The evaluation of body schema and perception in the cortex of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and the analysis of changes in brain regions functionally related to motor control and coordination between controls and the analysis of their developmental process with rehabilitation are very important in terms of contributing to the planning of a better effective rehabilitation process, increasing the patient's quality of life and evaluating the status of body representation related to the disease, its development and sustainability in daily life. fNIRS-based postural control neuroimaging and analysis will provide pioneering information about body schema, postural balance, motor activation and their rehabilitation-oriented changes and brain plasticity, which will provide separate analysis of dynamic and static balance. The changes created by body schema and perception in the cortex in individuals with AIS and the rehabilitation-oriented developmental process will be evaluated with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) solutions, specifically in motor control and coordination. Another important deficiency in the literature is the evaluation of changes created by rehabilitation processes in the cortex. Thanks to neural plasticity, a system that tries to compensate for a dysfunction can be reorganized. Therefore, rehabilitation studies are also of great importance here. The observed significant lateralization and body schema changes may also be useful for creating personalized and targeted corrective postural exercises. The portable fNIRS device is an effective neuroimaging and analysis method for monitoring motor control processes in cortical areas in subjects moving without any movement restrictions. Therefore, especially in terms of body representation, since performing measurements in a limited area where the patient's movement is not possible, such as fMRI, does not provide very accurate results, especially since the evaluation of the change process created by motor movements in the cortex does not yield very accurate results, cortical dynamics in AIS individuals will be evaluated with fNIRS.