Hyaluronic acid injections for pain relief and functional improvement in patients with temporomandibular disorders: An umbrella review of systematic reviews.

BACKGROUND: Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) are the main cause of chronic facial pain, and intra-articular (IA) injections of hyaluronic acid (HA) are commonly performed. OBJECTIVES: This umbrella review of systematic reviews aimed at analysing the effectiveness of HA injections on pain and functional outcomes in patients affected by TMD. METHODS: PubMed, Cochrane Library and PEDro were systematically searched from inception until 17 January 2023 to identify systematic reviews evaluating the effects on pain and functional outcomes of HA IA injections. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42022382586. RESULTS: Out of 316 papers suitable for title/abstract screening, 18 articles were included in the umbrella review. Thirteen studies included only randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs). The included systematic reviews reported no statistically significant differences between HA and corticosteroids, whereas platelet derivates seem to have good results in pain relief. The literature did not show severe adverse events, except for mild pain in the site of injection. Concerning the quality assessment of the 18 systematic reviews, 2 (11.11%) had a high quality, 3 (16.67%) a moderate quality, 7 (38.89%) a low quality and 6 (33.33%) a critically low quality. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, findings of this umbrella review showed intriguing effects of IA HA injections in terms of reduction of pain intensity and improvement of functioning in patients affected by TMD. Furthermore, there is no agreement on the effectiveness of a combination of arthrocentesis or arthroscopy with IA HA injections. Although the literature showed these positive results after IA HA injections, the overlapping of primary studies in the systematic reviews included might have affect our results, such as the very low quality of the papers. Thus, further RCTs are needed to confirm the efficacy of IA injections of HA on pain relief in patients with TMD.

Postural Analysis Using Rasterstereography and Inertial Measurement Units in Volleyball Players: Different Roles as Indicators of Injury Predisposition.

Background and Objectives: Acute and chronic injuries are frequent in volleyball. Biomechanics of sport-specific tasks can influence the risk of injury, which is also related to specific court positions. We investigated posture at raster-stereography, balance, and dynamic tasks using inertial motion units to find differences between roles, which can be predictive of a higher risk of injury. Materials and Methods: We cross-sectionally evaluated amateur volleyball athletes. Participants were divided into roles as outside hitters, setters, middle blockers, and opposite hitters. We excluded the "libero" position from our analysis. Results: Sixteen players were included in the analysis. A statistically significant difference was found in left lower limb stiffness among the outside hitter and setter groups. Conclusions: Differences in stiffness might be related to the different training and the different abilities among the two groups. Raster-stereography is extending its indications and should be implemented for non-invasive postural analysis. The use of inertial motion units provides objective measurements of variables that could go unrecognized within a clinical evaluation; its use should be considered in injury preventive programs.

Machine Learning and Wearable Sensors for the Early Detection of Balance Disorders in Parkinson's Disease.

Dynamic posturography combined with wearable sensors has high sensitivity in recognizing subclinical balance abnormalities in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). However, this approach is burdened by a high analytical load for motion analysis, potentially limiting a routine application in clinical practice. In this study, we used machine learning to distinguish PD patients from controls, as well as patients under and not under dopaminergic therapy (i.e., ON and OFF states), based on kinematic measures recorded during dynamic posturography through portable sensors. We compared 52 different classifiers derived from Decision Tree, K-Nearest Neighbor, Support Vector Machine and Artificial Neural Network with different kernel functions to automatically analyze reactive postural responses to yaw perturbations recorded through IMUs in 20 PD patients and 15 healthy subjects. To identify the most efficient machine learning algorithm, we applied three threshold-based selection criteria (i.e., accuracy, recall and precision) and one evaluation criterion (i.e., goodness index). Twenty-one out of 52 classifiers passed the three selection criteria based on a threshold of 80%. Among these, only nine classifiers were considered "optimum" in distinguishing PD patients from healthy subjects according to a goodness index ≤ 0.25. The Fine K-Nearest Neighbor was the best-performing algorithm in the automatic classification of PD patients and healthy subjects, irrespective of therapeutic condition. By contrast, none of the classifiers passed the three threshold-based selection criteria in the comparison of patients in ON and OFF states. Overall, machine learning is a suitable solution for the early identification of balance disorders in PD through the automatic analysis of kinematic data from dynamic posturography.

Information Survey on the Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Background and Objectives: Complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) are generally considered non-scientific and poor effective therapies. Nevertheless, CAMs are extensively used in common clinical practice in Western countries. We decided to promote a Delphi consensus to intercept the opinion of Italian physicians on CAM use in clinical practice. Materials and Methods: We run a Delphi-based consensus, interviewing anonymously 97 physicians. Of these, only 78 participate to the questionnaire. Results: Consensus about agreement and disagreement have been reached in several topics, including indication, as well as safety issues concerning CAMs. Conclusions: The use of CAMs in clinical practice still lacks evidence. Experts agree about the possibility to safely use CAMs in combination with conventional medicines to treat non-critical medical conditions.

The sequelae of mastectomy and quadrantectomy with respect to the reaching movement in breast cancer survivors: evidence for an integrated rehabilitation protocol during oncological care.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer among women in developed countries. Several types of surgical interventions are commonly used in BC, such as mastectomy and quadrantectomy, followed by radiation or not. Today, BC rehabilitation can help survivors obtain and maintain the highest physical, social, psychological, and vocational functioning possible, within the limits that are created by cancer and its treatments. OBJECTIVE: To verify, before and after a specific rehabilitation protocol treatment, the recovery of the fluidity of the reaching movement. METHODS: Patients after BC surgery were enrolled and assigned by cluster randomization into 2 groups through a block randomization list: mastectomy (Mas) and quadrantectomy (Quad). Evaluation scales (DASH and VAS) were administered, and biomechanical evaluations were performed for each group before treatment (T0 = baseline), at the end of the rehabilitative treatment (T1 = 12 sessions, 2/week), and after 3 months of follow-up (T2). RESULTS: Fifty-nine (Mas group = 29; Quad group = 30) after BC surgery were enrolled. VAS scores improved along the evaluation times at T0-T1 and T0-T2 (p < 0.001), without a statistically significant difference between groups. With regard to the normalized jerk, there was no significant interaction between time group (F = 2.029; p = 0.136). There was a significant decrease between T0-T1 and T1-T2 (F = 60.189; p < 0.001). Velocity improved significantly between T0-T1 and T1-T2 (F = 10.322; p < 0.001). There was a significant interaction for the elbow angle at the end of movement between time and group at T2 (F = 5.022; p = 0.029). CONCLUSION: The integrated, low-intensity, rehabilitative intervention is effective, even if it is not performed in the first period after BC surgery, without any difference between mastectomy and quadrantectomy.

Spa therapy and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal pathologies: a proposal for best practice in Italy.

Spa therapy is a heterogeneous collection of treatments and methods based on natural resources. It is often considered as an option in the common therapeutic approach to many musculoskeletal disorders, as well as respiratory, vascular, and dermatological disorders. The objective of this paper is to highlight possible interactions between rehabilitation and spa medicine in the field of musculoskeletal disorders, through an analysis of the scientific literature, in order to give the practitioner the ability to integrate good clinical practice in the field of rehabilitation through practical application involving spa therapies. The literature search was conducted using Medline, PEDro, Cochrane Database, and Google Scholar. Only studies published in English and works concerning the implementation of spa thermal treatment in neuro-musculoskeletal diseases were included. Specifically, the publications analyzed dealt with the treatment of diseases such as arthritis, rheumatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and low back pain through the use of thermal spa therapies. In conjunction with its widespread use in clinical practice, many studies in the literature suggest the effectiveness of crenobalneotherapy for a number of musculoskeletal disorders, generally those which are chronic and debilitating, finding significant clinical improvement both in terms of pain and functional limitations. Some of the guidelines formulated by national and international bodies on the treatment of specific diseases, such as the Italian Rheumatology Society (SIR) and the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) guidelines, recognize the value of thermal medicine as a complement, but not a replacement, for conventional therapy (pharmacological or not).

Fifteen Years of Wireless Sensors for Balance Assessment in Neurological Disorders.

Balance impairment is a major mechanism behind falling along with environmental hazards. Under physiological conditions, ageing leads to a progressive decline in balance control per se. Moreover, various neurological disorders further increase the risk of falls by deteriorating specific nervous system functions contributing to balance. Over the last 15 years, significant advancements in technology have provided wearable solutions for balance evaluation and the management of postural instability in patients with neurological disorders. This narrative review aims to address the topic of balance and wireless sensors in several neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, stroke, and other neurodegenerative and acute clinical syndromes. The review discusses the physiological and pathophysiological bases of balance in neurological disorders as well as the traditional and innovative instruments currently available for balance assessment. The technical and clinical perspectives of wearable technologies, as well as current challenges in the field of teleneurology, are also examined.

Reactive Postural Responses to Continuous Yaw Perturbations in Healthy Humans: The Effect of Aging.

Maintaining balance stability while turning in a quasi-static stance and/or in dynamic motion requires proper recovery mechanisms to manage sudden center-of-mass displacement. Furthermore, falls during turning are among the main concerns of community-dwelling elderly population. This study investigates the effect of aging on reactive postural responses to continuous yaw perturbations on a cohort of 10 young adults (mean age 28 ± 3 years old) and 10 older adults (mean age 61 ± 4 years old). Subjects underwent external continuous yaw perturbations provided by the RotoBit1D platform. Different conditions of visual feedback (eyes opened and eyes closed) and perturbation intensity, i.e., sinusoidal rotations on the horizontal plane at different frequencies (0.2 Hz and 0.3 Hz), were applied. Kinematics of axial body segments was gathered using three inertial measurement units. In order to measure reactive postural responses, we measured body-absolute and joint absolute rotations, center-of-mass displacement, body sway, and inter-joint coordination. Older adults showed significant reduction in horizontal rotations of body segments and joints, as well as in center-of-mass displacement. Furthermore, older adults manifested a greater variability in reactive postural responses than younger adults. The abnormal reactive postural responses observed in older adults might contribute to the well-known age-related difficulty in dealing with balance control during turning.

Controlled drainage of subretinal fluid during scleral buckling surgery for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment: the pigment stream sign.

PURPOSE: To describe the macroscopic characteristics of the subretinal fluid (SRF) and its spilling modality during evacuative puncture in scleral buckling (SB) surgery for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. METHODS: We retrospective reviewed all the SB surgeries performed over a period of 26 months at the University Eye Clinic of Trieste, Italy. We selected a cohort of 102 patients in which SRF drainage by means of evacuative puncture was performed. A high-definition video was recorded during the whole duration of the procedures, and the macroscopic characteristics of the SRF leakage were assessed. RESULTS: Pigmented dark-brownish deposits spilling in the fluid outcoming from the evacuative puncture was observed during the surgeries. In all cases, this macroscopic feature was detected during the late phases of the drainage. Moreover, indirect ophthalmoscopic evaluation showed the almost complete SRF drainage and a flattened retina at that moment. CONCLUSIONS: The pigment stream sign, easily detectable by the surgeon, allows to understand, during the evacuative puncture, when the SRF has been drained almost completely and that the drainage procedure is therefore close to the end.

Reliability of the Cervical Spine Device for the Assessment of Cervical Spine Range of Motion in Asymptomatic Participants.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the inter- and intra-assessor reliability of the cervical spine device (Formetric, DIERS International GmbH, Schlangenbad, Germany) in measuring cervical range of motion. METHODS: The cervical spine device was used to measure the cervical range of motion of 65 asymptomatic participants. Flexion-extension, right and left rotation, and right and left lateral flexion were analyzed. Two different assessors performed the measurements on the same day to estimate inter-assessor reliability and 2 days later to examine intra-assessor reliability. Intra-assessor and inter-assessor reliability was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The standard error of measurement (SEM) and the smallest detectable difference (SDD) were also estimated. RESULTS: Inter-assessor reliability ICCs for flexion + extension and total lateral flexion movements were >0.90. The ICCs for rotation movements and for left lateral flexion were >0.70. The ICCs for flexion (0.64), extension (0.58), and right lateral flexion (0.56) indicated moderate correlation. Mean SEMs ranged from 2.28° (SDD = 6.31°) for left rotation to 8.08° (SDD = 22.38°) for total rotation. As for intra-assessor test-retest reliability, all ICCs were >0.70. Mean SEMs ranged from 3.14° (SDD = 8.70°) for total lateral flexion to 7.50° (SDD = 20.77°) for extension. CONCLUSION: Both inter- and intra-observer reproducibility correlation values are moderate to high for measurements obtained using the cervical spine device.

Correction to: Comment on "Efficacy of a single intra-articular injection of ultra-high molecular weight hyaluronic acid for hip osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled study".

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake. The first and last names of the authors were interchanged. The correct author names are given below.

Achilles Tendon Open Surgical Treatment With Platelet-Rich Fibrin Matrix Augmentation: Biomechanical Evaluation.

The relationship between surgical technique and ankle biomechanical properties after surgery for acute rupture of the Achilles tendon (ATR) has not yet been fully investigated. Platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) matrices seem to play a central role in the complex processes of tendon healing. Our aim was to analyze the biomechanical characteristics, stiffness, and mechanical work of the ankle during walking in patients who had undergone surgery after ATR with and without PRF augmentation. We performed a retrospective review of all consecutive patients who had been treated with surgical repair after ATR. Of the 20 male subjects enrolled, 9 (45%) had undergone conventional open repair of the Achilles tendon using the Krackow technique (no-PRF) and 11 (55%) had undergone surgery with PRF augmentation. An additional 8 healthy subjects were included as a control group. A gait analysis evaluation was performed at 6 months after surgery. The percentage of the stance time of the operated leg, double-support time of the healthy leg, and net work of the ankle during the gait cycle showed statistically significant differences between the no-PRF and the healthy group (p < .005). No differences were found between the PRF and healthy groups. Treatment with suture and PRF augmentation could result in significant functional improvements in term of efficiency of motion.

Assessing the Cervical Range of Motion in Infants With Positional Plagiocephaly.

PURPOSE: To determine if infants with positional plagiocephaly have limitations of active and passive cervical range of motion measured with simple and reliable methods. METHODS: The examiners assessed bilateral active and passive cervical rotations and passive cervical lateral flexion. Cervical assessment was performed twice by 2 different physicians to assess intertester reliability. To assess intratester reliability the first investigator performed a second examination 48 hours after the first one. RESULTS: One-hundred nine subjects were analyzed; 70.7% of the sample had head positional preference on the right, while 29.3% had head positional preference on the left (χ 35.52, P <0.001). Cervical rotations and lateral flexion showed reliable levels of agreement for intra and intertester reliability. CONCLUSIONS: The most limited range of motion in infants with positional plagiocephaly was cervical active rotation which affected more than 90% of patients. Passive cervical rotations and lateral flexion were limited in more than 60% of patients.

Hyaluronic acid in the management of osteoarthritis: injection therapies innovations.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic degenerative joint disease characterized by pain and progressive functional limitation. Viscosupplementation with intra-articular (IA) hyaluronic acid (HA) could be a treatment option in OA, however recommendations made in different international guidelines for the non-surgical management of OA are not always concordant with regard to the role of IA injection therapies. Results from a recent Italian Consensus Conference underline how IA-HA to treat OA represents a widely used therapy in Italy. Specifically high molecular weight HA, cross-linked HA, and mobile reticulum HA are considered very useful to treat the OA joints from a great number of expert in Italy. These kinds of HA could reduce the NSAIDs intake, furthermore high-molecular weight and mobile reticulum HA are considered to be able to delay or avoid a joint prosthetic implant. This mini review highlights the results obtained from the Italian Consensus Conference "Appropriateness of clinical and organizational criteria for intra-articular injection therapies in osteoarthritis" and give further indication about innovation in IA-HA therapies.

Clinical definition of sarcopenia.

Sarcopenia is a condition characterized by loss of skeletal muscle mass and function. Although it is primarily a disease of the elderly, its development may be associated with conditions that are not exclusively seen in older persons. Sarcopenia is a syndrome characterized by progressive and generalized loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength and it is strictly correlated with physical disability, poor quality of life and death. Risk factors for sarcopenia include age, gender and level of physical activity. In conditions such as malignancy, rheumatoid arthritis and aging, lean body mass is lost while fat mass may be preserved or even increased. The loss in muscle mass may be associated with increased body fat so that despite normal weight there is marked weakness, this is a condition called sarcopenic obesity. There is an important correlation between inactivity and losses of muscle mass and strength, this suggests that physical activity should be a protective factor for the prevention but also the management of sarcopenia. Furthermore one of the first step to be taken for a person with sarcopenia or clinical frailty is to ensure that the sarcopenic patient is receiving correct and sufficient nutrition. Sarcopenia has a greater effect on survival. It should be important to prevent or postpone as much as possible the onset of this condition, to enhance survival and to reduce the demand for long-term care. Interventions for sarcopenia need to be developed with most attention on exercise and nutritional interventions.

Safety and Efficacy of Ultrasound-Guided Perineural Hydrodissection as a Minimally Invasive Treatment in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Systematic Review.

Ultrasound-guided perineural hydrodissection (HD) is a novel technique that has been found to be effective in providing mechanical release of perineural adhesions and decompression of the nerve, reducing inflammation and edema and restoring its physiological function. It has a significant impact on chronic neuropathic pain (20 ± 4 weeks with VAS < 5 or VAS diminished by 2 points after the procedure). Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a common entrapment mononeuropathy, and its distribution is typically innervated by the median nerve. Patients with mild or moderate CTS may benefit from nonsurgical treatments or conservative therapies. This review was conducted following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) statement guidelines. Four investigators assessed each title, abstract, and full-text article for eligibility, with disagreements being resolved by consensus with two experienced investigators. The qualitative assessment of the studies was carried out using the modified Oxford quality scoring system, also known as the modified Jadad score. Furthermore, risk of possible biases was assessed using the Cochrane collaboration tool. The results of this review suggest that US-guided HD is an innovative, effective, well-tolerated, and safe technique (11 out of 923 patients had collateral or side effects after the procedure). However, further studies comparing all drugs and with a larger sample population are required to determine the most effective substance.

Predictive Prognostic Factors in Non-Calcific Supraspinatus Tendinopathy Treated with Focused Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy: An Artificial Neural Network Approach.

The supraspinatus tendon is one of the most involved tendons in the development of shoulder pain. Extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) has been recognized as a valid and safe treatment. Sometimes the symptoms cannot be relieved, or a relapse develops, affecting the patient's quality of life. Therefore, a prediction protocol could be a powerful tool aiding our clinical decisions. An artificial neural network was run, in particular a multilayer perceptron model incorporating input information such as the VAS and Constant-Murley score, administered at T0 and at T1 after six months. It showed a model sensitivity of 80.7%, and the area under the ROC curve was 0.701, which demonstrates good discrimination. The aim of our study was to identify predictive factors for minimal clinically successful therapy (MCST), defined as a reduction of ≥40% in VAS score at T1 following ESWT for chronic non-calcific supraspinatus tendinopathy (SNCCT). From the male gender, we expect greater and more frequent clinical success. The more severe the patient's initial condition, the greater the possibility that clinical success will decrease. The Constant and Murley score, Roles and Maudsley score, and VAS are not just evaluation tools to verify an improvement; they are also prognostic factors to be taken into consideration in the assessment of achieving clinical success. Due to the lower clinical improvement observed in older patients and those with worse clinical and functional scales, it would be preferable to also provide these patients with the possibility of combined treatments. The ANN predictive model is reasonable and accurate in studying the influence of prognostic factors and achieving clinical success in patients with chronic non-calcific tendinopathy of the supraspinatus treated with ESWT.

Influence of rTMS over the left primary motor cortex on initiation and performance of a simple movement executed with the contralateral arm in healthy volunteers.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) affects cortical excitability according to the frequency of stimulation. Few data are available on the influence of rTMS applied over the primary motor cortex (M1) on motor performances in healthy volunteers. The aim of this study was to determine, through kinematic analysis, whether rTMS over the left M1 changes initiation and performance of movement executed with the contralateral arm. Nine healthy males completed a set of motor tasks, consisting of a single-joint rapid movement between two objects performed under three different behavioral conditions (self-initiated; externally triggered known, during which the subject could see where the target was positioned in advance; externally triggered unknown, during which the subject could not see where the target was positioned until he reached it). The tasks were performed in a randomized order in three different sessions, with a seven-day interval between each session: (1) without stimulation (baseline); (2) immediately after 1-Hz rTMS; (3) immediately after 10-Hz rTMS. We measured reaction time, movement time, calculated as the sum of the time taken to reach the target from movement onset (T1) and that taken to reach the target to movement termination (T2), acceleration and deceleration time on the velocity profile, as well as the ratio between them, and maximum speed and maximum acceleration. Reaction time, movement time, and T2 significantly increased after 1-Hz rTMS and decreased after 10-Hz rTMS, while the other parameters remained unchanged. Our results suggest that rTMS may modify both initiation and performance of a voluntary movement.

Does giving segmental muscle vibration alter the response to botulinum toxin injections in the treatment of spasticity in people with multiple sclerosis? A single-blind randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if segmental muscle vibration and botulinum toxin-A injection, either alone or in combination, reduces spasticity in a sample of patients with multiple sclerosis. DESIGN: Single-blind, randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Physical medicine and rehabilitation outpatients service. SUBJECTS: Forty-two patients affected by the secondary progressive form of multiple sclerosis randomized to group A (30 minutes of 120 Hz segmental muscle vibration over the rectus femoris and gastrocnemius medial and lateral, three per week, over a period of four weeks), group B (botulinum toxin in the rectus femoris, gastrocnemius medial and lateral and soleus, and segmental muscle vibration) and group C (botulinum toxin). MAIN MEASURES: Modified Ashworth Scale at knee and ankle, and Fatigue Severity Scale. All the measurements were performed at baseline (T0), 10 weeks (T1) and 22 weeks (T2) postallocation. RESULTS: Modified Ashworth Scale at knee and ankle significantly decreased over time (p < 0.001) in all groups. Patients in group C displayed a significant increase of knee and ankle spasticity at T2 when compared with T1 (p < 0.05). Fatigue Severity Scale values in groups A and C were significantly higher at T0 [A: 53.6 (2.31); C: 48.5 (2.77)] than at either T1 [A: 48.6 (2.21); p = 0.03; C: 43.5 (3.22); p = 0.03] or T2 [A: 46.7 (2.75); p = 0.02; 42.5 (2.17); p = 0.02], while no differences were detected in group B [T0: 43.4 (3.10); T1: 37.3 (3.15); T2: 39.7 (2.97)]. CONCLUSION: Segmental muscle vibration and botulinum toxin-A reduces spasticity and improves fatigue in the medium-term follow-up in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Vertebral rotation in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis calculated by radiograph and back surface analysis-based methods: correlation between the Raimondi method and rasterstereography.

PURPOSE: The aim of the present research is to evaluate the relationship between an X-ray-based method (i.e. the Raimondi method) and rasterstereography in the evaluation of vertebral rotation (VR) in a sample of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients. METHODS: A total of 25 patients (9 males; mean age 14 ± 3 years; mean height 160.7 ± 11.9 cm; mean weight 52.4 ± 10.7 kg) were considered for the present analysis. The mean Cobb angle was 30° ± 9°. The evaluation of VR on radiographs was made using the Raimondi method regolo (Marrapese Editore--Demi S.r.1., Rome). Rasterstereography was performed by means of Formetric 4D(®) (Diers International GmbH, Schlangenbad, Germany). Correlations between rasterstereographic and radiographic measurement of VR were calculated, both for the whole sample and for thoracic and lumbar spinal segments considered separately, as well as for subgroups of patients with a Cobb angle <30° and ≥ 30° using Spearman's correlation coefficient by rank (r (s)). RESULTS: When applied to the entire spine, measurement of VR by means of the two methods highlighted a significant correlation in the whole group (r = 0.52; p < 0.0001), as well as in the <30° Cobb (r = 0.47; p = 0.0001) and ≥ 30° Cobb (r = 0.42; p < 0.0001) subgroups. A significant correlation was found also when lumbar and thoracic VR were considered as separated groups (r = 0.30, p = 0.024 and r = 0.47, p = 0.002, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Rasterstereographic evaluation of VR shows a good correlation with the Raimondi method, thereby confirming the possibility to use this non-invasive method for deformity assessment in AIS patients.