The effectiveness of physical exercises in the treatment of idiopathic scoliosis: A systematic review

The idiopathic scoliosis is a spinal deformity develops in three-dimensions mostly occurring in female adolescents. Untreated scoliosis can progress to where it results back pain, impaired vital capacity, and psychosocial disturbances. It seems that exercise-based therapies can be useful in the treatment of scoliosis; therefore the aim of this review is to clarify the effectiveness of physical exercises in the treatment of idiopathic scoliosis. We performed a search through different international databases (Ebsco, Medline (via PubMed), and ISI Web of Knowledge) with the following keywords: scoliosis combined with review, scoliosis combined with exercise, scoliosis combined with sport and scoliosis combined with rehabilitation. The inclusion criteria were both; patients treated solely by the physical exercises and systematic review of the study design. Finally, Five articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Three of them had revealed poor quality evidence supporting the use of exercise in the treatment of idiopathic scoliosis. Two systematic reviews in 2008 and 2011confirmed the efficacy of exercises in reducing the progression rate and/or improving the Cobb angles. The encouraging results provided by the discussed studies can give birth to the hypothesis that physical exercises are effective in treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, a hypothesis that must be verified by a well-designed randomized controlled trial.