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Meta-Analysis
. 2021 May;35(5):669-680.
doi: 10.1177/0269215520975105. Epub 2020 Dec 27.

Effect of core-based exercise in people with scoliosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Xin Li  1   2 , Jie Shen  2 , Juping Liang  1 , Xuan Zhou  1 , Yuqi Yang  3 , Dexuan Wang  4 , Shanshan Wang  4 , Lixia Wang  2 , Hong Wang  3 , Qing Du  1   5
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Effect of core-based exercise in people with scoliosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Xin Li et al. Clin Rehabil. 2021 May.

Abstract

Objective: To systematically assess the effectiveness of core-based exercise for correcting a spinal deformity and improving quality of life in people with scoliosis.

Data sources: The PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and Web of Science databases were searched from inception up to September 30, 2020.

Methods: Clinical controlled trials were eligible if they compared the effectiveness of core-based exercise to other nonsurgical interventions in people with scoliosis. The revised Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool for randomized trials and the methodological index for non-randomized studies scale were used to assess the risk of bias. The outcomes included the Cobb angle, the angle of trunk rotation and quality of life. RevMan 5.3 was used, and intergroup differences were determined by calculating mean differences (MD) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results: After screening 1348 studies, nine studies with 325 participants met the inclusion criteria. The exercise group had significantly lower Cobb angles (MD = -2.08, 95% CI: -3.89 to -0.28, P = 0.02) and significantly better quality of life as measured by the Scoliosis Research Society-22 questionnaire (MD = 0.25, 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.49, P = 0.03) than the control groups. However, no significant difference was observed regarding the angle of trunk rotation between groups (MD = -0.69, 95% CI: -2.61 to 1.22, P = 0.48). Furthermore, no serious adverse events were reported. The overall quality of evidence ranged from low to very low.

Conclusion: Core-based exercise may have a beneficial role in reducing the Cobb angle and improving quality of life in people with scoliosis in the short term.

Prospero registration number: CRD42020160509 (Available at http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/).

Keywords: Scoliosis; core-based exercise; meta-analysis; systematic review.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
PRISMA flow diagram of included published studies.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Cobb angle for core-based exercise compared with other forms of treatment. 1.2.1, core exercise only; 1.2.2, both core exercise and comprehensive exercise studies. CI: confidence interval; SD: standard deviation.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
ATR for core-based exercise compared with other forms of treatment. ATR: angle of trunk rotation; CI: confidence interval; SD: standard deviation.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Quality of Life (evaluated by SRS-22) for core-based exercise compared with other forms of treatment: (a) total score, (b) self-image, (c) self-reported pain relief, (d) function, and (e) mental health. CI: confidence interval; SD: standard deviation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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