The effect of an exercise intervention on adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: a network meta-analysis.

Yonghuan Chen, Zhendong Zhang, Qiuhan Zhu

Journal: Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research 2023;18(1):655

PMID: 37667353

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Plain Language Summary

As a very important physiological structure of the human body, the spine plays an important role in cushioning vibration, supporting the trunk, and supporting movement. However, the pathological changes of the spine caused by genetic and environmental have become a common "civilization disease. Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is a common spinal disorder without a clear aetiology, affecting the physiological structure of the spine and leading to various complications. This study's aim was to assess the impact of different forms of exercise interventions on AIS and to determine the most effective exercise form for improving the condition. This study was a network meta-analysis included 12 articles with 538 samples. Results showed that exercise interventions were more effective than conventional therapies in reducing Cobb’s angle, with no significant differences among the exercise forms. Yoga, core strength training, physiotherapeutic scoliosis-specific exercise, schroth exercise, and sling exercises all showed improvements in AIS. Authors concluded that exercise interventions significantly improved AIS, with yoga potentially being the most effective form. However, no exercise form was conclusively superior, indicating the need for more research to establish definitive guidelines.

Abstract

PURPOSE

To explore the effect of exercise intervention on adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), various exercise forms were compared and the sequence of the possibility of improving the effect of each exercise form was sorted out. We expect that our findings will provide clinicians and patients with more effective treatments and references.

METHOD

A thorough search was done on CNKI, Wanfang, WOS, Cochrane library, Embase, PubMed, Scopus and obtained the publication time from the database establishment to May 6, 2023. The relevant contents of the literature that passed the screening criteria were extracted, including relevant information about the sample, first author, intervention measures, intervention time, and outcome indicators. Analysis was performed by Review Manager 5.4 and Stata17.0.

RESULT

The study finally included 12 articles with 538 samples. After comparison, it was found that exercise interventions to reduce Cobb's angle were more effective than conventional therapies and reached a statistically significant difference. Compared with conventional therapy, core strength training, Physiotherapeutic Scoliosis-Specific Exercise (PSSE), yoga, Schroth, and sling reduced the Cobb angle by an average of 3.82 degrees, 3.79 degrees, 4.60 degrees, 3.63 degrees, and 3.30 degrees, respectively. However, the therapeutic effects on AIS did not show statistically significant differences between the exercise interventions. According to the SUCRA value and the cumulative probability, the MeanRank of improving the AIS effect by various sports intervention measures as follows: yoga (2.2), core strength training (2.8), PSSE (2.8), Schroth exercise (3.2), and sling exercise (4.0).

CONCLUSION

Exercise intervention can significantly improve AIS. There was no significant difference in the improvement effect of AIS among different exercise forms. Yoga may have the best effect on AIS improvement.

Address: Department of Physical Education, Pukyong National University, Busan, South Korea.; School of Physical Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.; School of Physical Education, Zhengzhou Sias University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China.; School of Physical Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China. [email protected].

DOI: 10.1186/s13018-023-04137-1