Curvature progression in patients treated with scoliosis in-patient rehabilitation--a sex and age matched controlled study.

The aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that physiotherapy-based intervention can reduce incidence of progression in children with IS because progression of spinal curvature in patients with idiopathic scoliosis (IS) is of paramount concern in treatment strategies. Follow-up of the outcome of two prospective studies using the outcome parameter, incidence of progression (> or = 5 degrees), in treated and untreated patient groups matched by age, sex, and degree of curvature at diagnosis. A six-week scoliosis in-patient rehabilitation (SIR) program offering patient-specific physiotherapy including intensive therapist-assisted exercise in diagnosis-matched groups. A followup home therapy regime is designed for each patient. Incidence of progression in groups of untreated patients ranged from 1.5-fold (71.2% vs 46.7%) to 2.9-fold (55.8% vs 19.2%) higher than in groups of patients treated with SIR, even when SIR-treated groups included patients with more severe curvatures. Statistically, the differences were highly significant. Postural imbalance is a component of spinal curvature and can be a causative mechanism. However, efforts to test the hypothesis that physical therapies addressing postural imbalance can be used effectively in the treatment of IS have been limited. The results of this study indicate that a supervised program of exercise-based therapies can reduce incidence of progression in children with IS.