Sports participation reduces the progression of idiopathic scoliosis and the need for bracing. An observational study of 511 adolescents with Risser 0-2 maturation stage.
Alessandra Negrini, Sabrina Donzelli, Massimiliano Vanossi and 4 others
PMID 36892518WHAT IT FOUND
Adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis who played non-competitive sports regularly had a lower risk of curve progression and needing a brace.
The risk decreased further as weekly sports frequency increased from one to four times. This observational data supports encouraging activity, not replacing specific exercises.
Key findings
01Patients who did not play sports had a higher risk of curve progression (relative risk 1.57) and failure requiring bracing (relative risk 1.85) compared to those who played sports.
02For each additional weekly session of sports, the risk of progression decreased by 0.1 and the risk of failure decreased by 0.06.
03In a subgroup analysis, the odds of progression and failure were 46% and 47% higher, respectively, in those not practicing sports compared to those practicing 1-4 times per week.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study is observational, so it cannot prove that sports prevent scoliosis progression. It is possible that adolescents with less severe curves were more likely to participate in sports (reverse causality), or that those who were already progressing were advised to stop. Sports participation and frequency were collected via recall during clinical visits, which introduces potential recall bias. The study did not record the duration of each sports session, only the weekly frequency, so it cannot account for the total volume of activity. The analysis could not separate the effects of specific sports because many patients played multiple types or switched activities during the follow-up. The study did not assess the combined effect of sports and specific physiotherapeutic scoliosis exercises (PSSE), so it is unclear if adding sports to PSSE provides additional benefit beyond PSSE alone.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret this as evidence that sports alone are sufficient to stop scoliosis progression. The effect size was small, and the study was observational, meaning it shows an association rather than proof of cause. Specific physiotherapeutic exercises (PSSE) have stronger evidence from randomized trials and should remain the primary intervention, with sports encouraged as a complementary activity.