Chiropractic with Exercise Yield Best Results for Scoliosis

The British Journal of Healthcare and Medical Research published the results of a narrative review on October 25, 2022, describing the findings from multiple scientific studies documenting that chiropractic combined with spinal exercises showed the best results for Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS).

The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases describes this condition on their website by saying, "Scoliosis is a sideways curve of the spine. Everyone has normal curves in the spine, and when looked at from behind, the spine appears straight. However, children and teens with scoliosis have an abnormal S-shaped or C-shaped curve of the spine."

Typical medical care for scoliosis begins with watching and waiting. If the curvature continues to worsen, then a brace is, many times, the common recommendation. For the more severe cases, surgery may be recommended. Both bracing and surgery are difficult steps for an adolescent. It has long been felt that more conservative means of care for scoliosis should be considered before bracing or surgery.

The authors of this study stated their purpose for doing this investigation. "This narrative review aimed to investigate the efficacy of chiropractic treatments and scoliosis-specific exercise (SSE) for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) as an alternative treatment for bracing."

The researchers conducted an exhaustive search for scientific articles on chiropractic care for scoliosis. The search included the sources PubMed, Index to Chiropractic Literature, Spine Journal, BioMed Central, Google Scholar, and Research Gate databases. In total, they found 156 articles on the subject. From this total, they selected six papers that represented the highest scientific standard and credibility. One additional paper was included because of the value of the information.

As part of the researchers review, the authors of this study noted that, "All the reviewed papers reported the benefits of exercise and chiropractic as part of AIS management. Only one study showed that SSE alone slows curve progression, whereas the other six papers (four papers investigating chiropractic intervention alone and two investigating SSE alone) showed significant curve reduction after analyzing the X-ray findings."

From this data, the researchers concluded, "The results obtained from these six papers showed that only two were able to demonstrate help with scoliosis through exercise only. The other four papers showed that chiropractic, either alone or in combination with exercise were able to help those with AIS."