• Ewa Misterska, Maciej Glowacki, and Jerzy Harasymczuk.
• Department of Pediatric Orthopaedics, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland. emisterska1@wp.pl
• Med. Sci. Monit. 2011 Feb 1; 17 (2): CR83-90.

BackgroundPsychopathological symptoms occur more often in chronically ill patients than in healthy populations. The aim of this study was to analyze the associations between different types of treatment and stress levels.Material/MethodsThe study group consisted of 69 females, of whom 35 were treated conservatively with a Cheneau brace; the other 34 subjects were treated operatively and, after correction of scoliosis with thoracoplasty, wore a brace for 12 weeks during the postoperative period. Patients completed the Polish versions of the Bad Sobernheim Stress Questionnaire-Deformity and the Bad Sobernheim Stress Questionnaire-Brace.ResultsPatients who were treated surgically felt a moderate level of stress connected with wearing the brace and with body deformation. The group treated conservatively felt moderate stress connected with wearing the brace, but a low level of stress in relation to body deformation. The groups differed significantly statistically in the level of stress felt regarding body deformation (p=0.004). In the group treated conservatively, the correlation between the level of stress, the age at which treatment was initiated, and degree of apical translation proved to be significant.ConclusionsPatients treated surgically in comparison with patients treated conservatively report higher stress levels connected with body deformation. A higher level of stress depends on the degree of trunk deformation on the frontal plane; stress is also higher in patients who begin conservative treatment at a later age.

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