Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: A 71 Cases Study Ascertaining that Straightening Is Possible, and a New Etiological Hypothesis

Jan Polak
Asian Spine J. 2013 December; 7(4): 282–288.
Published online 2013 November 28. doi: 10.4184/asj.2013.7.4.282

Abstract
Study Design

Seventy-one children (23 boys and 48 girls, aged 6 to 18 year-old) with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) between 11° and 62°, without braces, have been treated manually, only at the level of the neck.

Purpose

To ascertain that non-surgical straightening of AIS is possible (without brace).

Overview of Literature

So far no disease modifying treatment for AIS existed. Braces can only slow down worsening (and this can only be achieved if they are worn 23 hours a day). Surgery is not without important risks.

Methods

All patients have been treated exclusively with a manual therapy called Brachy-Myotherapy. This method treats spasmed (contractured) muscles by placing them in a shortening position according to a specific protocol.

Results

An average straightening of 8° of AIS was observed, with a maximum of 25°. 94% of cases improved, 67 out of 71. The worst prognosis was, the better results. The more advanced AIS was, the better the results.

Conclusions

A simple and reliable treatment of AIS is possible. AIS seems to be a compensation mechanism of the body, with the aim of keeping the ears, and thus the labyrinths, at a horizontal level for correct equilibrium. When lasting post-traumatic neck muscle contractures causing a permanent side-bending of the skull have been treated, this compensation mechanism becomes irrelevant and scoliosis tends to subside.

Full Text Article:  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3863653/