Effects of Specific Schroth Exercises on Cobb Angle, Flexibility, and Functional Capacity of Adolescents with Idiopathic Scoliosis

Abstract

Background and Objective: Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is one of the complex and common deformities of the spine. It is a condition that can cause a lot of pain and discomfort for individuals and has consequences and complications. There are different exercises and approaches for correction of this deformity, such as Schroth exercise. In this regard, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of corrective exercises on Cobb angle, flexibility, functional capacity, and quality of life of adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis. Materials and Methods: This controlled clinical trial with pre-test and posttest design was performed on 24 adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis who were randomly divided into control and experimental groups. Cobb angle, flexibility, and functional capacity were measured by X-ray imaging, flexibility box, and six-minute walk test, respectively. The collected data were statistically analyzed in SPSS software (version 23) using a mixeddesign analysis of variance with repeated measures. It must be noted that a p-value of 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Based on the results, after 10 weeks of Schroth exercises, there was a significant difference in the exercise group regarding the reduction of Cobb angle as well as the increase of flexibility and functional capacity. However, no significant difference was observed in the control group from pre-test to post-test (P≤0.05). Conclusion: According to the results, it can be concluded that the Schroth exercise program that involves the whole motor chain can effectively decrease the lateral curvature angle of patients with idiopathic scoliosis. Therefore, this type of exercise can be useful to use to treat people with Idiopathic scoliosis deformity.

The Effectiveness of Schroth vs SEAS Exercise Methods for Correcting Idiopathic Scoliosis in Adolescents: A Systematic Review

“…Moreover, six and four papers were found in the second [4,13,17,31,32,34] and third [30,33,35,36] evidence levels, respectively. Six and four papers were performed with RCTs [4,13,31,32,34,35] and CCTs [17, 30,33,36] study design, respectively. Additionally, assessor and subject blinding were conducted in four papers [4,13,31,35] (Table 1).…”

“…Among the included papers, three, six, and one papers obtained the strong [4,13,17], moderate [30][31][32][33][34][35], and low [36] qualities, respectively, based on the PEDro scale assessment. Moreover, six and four papers were found in the second [4,13,17,31,32,34] and third [30,33,35,36] evidence levels, respectively. Six and four papers were performed with RCTs [4,13,31,32,34,35] and CCTs [17, 30,33,36] study design, respectively.…”

“…Among the approved papers, six papers used the Schroth [13, 30-32, 34, 35], among which two RCTs were compared with Schroth at home [34] and core stability groups [31]; four RCTs were compared with the control group [13,32,34,35]; one CCT used only a combination of Schroth and Pilates group [30].…”

“…Five papers used braces along with CEs [4,13,30,33,35] and the rest of the papers were conducted without using braces [17,31,32,34,36]. Different CE periods were observed among the papers, including more than one year [17,33,36], between three and six months [4,13,20,34], and less than three months [31,32,35], which were between two and six months for Schroth and four months to three years for SEAS (Table 2).…”

“…The CA was calculated by using radiography in all the papers [4,13,17,[30][31][32][33][34][35][36]. ATR was measured by using a Scoliometer in eight papers [4,17,30,31,[33][34][35][36].…”