Effect of physical therapy scoliosis specific exercises using breathing pattern on adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.
Sungyoung Yoon, Min-Hyung Rhee
PMID 27942163WHAT IT FOUND
After eight weeks of scoliosis-specific exercises, one adolescent had lower Cobb angle measurements and trunk rotation measurements, and higher rib cage expansion on deep inhalation.
This describes one person, not proof the exercises work.
Key findings
01Measured after training, the upper thoracic Cobb angle decreased from 33 to 31 degrees and the lower thoracic Cobb angle decreased from 37 to 29 degrees.
02Measured after training, scoliometer readings decreased from 4 to 1 on the left upper thorax and from 9 to 6 on the right lower thorax.
03At maximal inhalation, rib cage circumference at the axilla, xyphoid, and waist changed from 84.5, 76, and 68 cm to 85, 77.5, and 69 cm, while resting circumference stayed at 81, 73.5, and 67 cm.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study reports one subject, so it describes what happened to that adolescent, not a pattern across patients. There was no control group or comparison treatment, so the before-and-after changes cannot be separated from other events during the eight weeks. The authors note the exercise period was relatively short. The subject did not wear a brace, so the report does not show how these exercises interact with bracing.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that these exercises will reduce Cobb angle or trunk rotation in your patients. This report describes one adolescent's before-and-after measurements, with no control group, so the changes cannot be shown to be caused by the exercises.