Natural sagittal spino-pelvic alignment in boys and girls before, at and after adolescent peak height velocity

Objective One of the unexplained, but well known, characteristics of AIS is that girls are far more often affected than boys and the initiation and progression of the deformity normally occurs around the adolescent growth spurt. From previous studies it can be inferred that, due to biomechanical forces that act on posteriorly inclined spinal segments, certain sagittal spinal profiles are more prone to develop a spinal deformity than others. The aim of this natural history study was to quantify sagittal spinopelvic alignment and orientation in space of each individual vertebra in normal boys and girls in the beginning, the peak and at the end of pubertal growth.