Bracing adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: a systematic review of the literature of effective conservative treatment looking for end results 5 years after weaning.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to investigate long-term radiological and clinical outcomes of brace treatment, comparing to those of the natural history or surgical treatment.
METHOD: Review of literature.
RESULTS: Most of the ling-term follow-up study of brace treatment showed initial improvement with use of the brace, slight improvement compared with the original curve at the time of the brace discontinuation, and an additional loss of correction at the time of the follow-up. The rate of loss of correction was comparable to the progression rate observed in the natural history after skeletal maturity, and the effect of the brace treatment remained even with some loss of correction after the treatment. Clinical outcomes investigated were pain, function, and activity of the patients, including marital status, child bearing, and job performance. Most of the studies concluded that quality of life of the patients treated by brace was comparable to that of the control, with some exception reported regarding back pain and some kind of activities.
CONCLUSION: Brace treatment is effective even in the long-term for the treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Curve progression after the treatment was equivalent to that in the natural history. Quality of life of the patients treated by brace was comparable to that of the normal control.