Efficacy of Different Exercises on Mild to Moderate Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Abstract

Purpose: The aims of this study are to evaluate the effectiveness of different exercise interventions on patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and to provide evidence-based exercise prescriptions for this population.

Methods: The PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CNKI, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), VIP, and Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform were searched until January 2023. The data were pooled and a meta-analysis was conducted.

Results: A total of 19 studies were conducted with 778 participants. The Schroth exercises group (mean difference = -3.48, 95% confidence interval = -4.73 to -2.23, P < 0.00001) and strength training group (mean difference = -3.43, 95% confidence interval = -4.06 to -2.80, P < 0.00001) had better recovery of the Cobb angle than the other groups. The Cobb angle rehabilitation effect was good in the time of less than 60-min group. In addition, there was no significant difference found between the different intervention periods groups ( P > 0.05).

Conclusions: Schroth exercise and strength training significantly improved Cobb angle of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients; exercising for less than 60 mins is effective for Cobb angle rehabilitation, but prolonging exercise time cannot improve training effectiveness; 12 wks of exercise significantly improved Cobb angle, but prolonged training periods did not have a significant impact.