1. It is agreed that very little is known about the cause and cure of the scoliosis patient.  Obviously, there is no cure for the disease, or no one would have it.  However, an effective system of treatment for the reduction and stabilization of scoliosis has emerged on the scene.  The fight against early stage scoliosis is being lead by doctors Clayton J. Stitzel and Brian T. Dovorany;  Who specialize in a system of neuro-muscular rehabilitation, spinal adjustments, and vibration therapies that essentially “reverse engineer” the condition. This treatment provides a viable alternative to the “wait & watch” observation, traditional scoliosis brace treatment and scoliosis surgery treatment choices.
3.               Due to the lateral bending and rotation of spinal movement patterns, scoliosis creates a twisting of the spine around its own axis.  Much like twisting a rubber band from the top and bottom, the middle of the rubber band is susceptible to buckling into a curved and rotated position which is the beginning appearance of the spinal curvature.   (include picture of buckled rubber band)

1.               The twisted and bent position of the spine creates a tremendous amount of torque which then further drives the existing spinal curvature into more twisting and bending and results in further buckling (increase in the spinal curvature).  This becomes a self feeding loop which is often referred to as the “coil down effect”.  Often at this point the spinal deformity starts becoming outwardly apparent in the form of a torso translation or a rib hump.

1.               A large scale, medically peer reviewed study clearly shows that curvatures under 30 degrees (measured with the Cobb angle method) in early spinal development (Risser’s sign of 0-1 indicting skeletal immaturity) will see their spinal curvature progress 68% of the time. (1)  Since the majority of spinal curvatures under 30 degrees are diagnosed in pre-adolescents, a progression of the spinal curvature can be expected over 2/3 of the time!

1.               The current medical standard for the treatment of scoliosis does not recommend any treatment for spinal curvatures until they progress to a lofty 25 degrees Cobb’s angle.  At that point, spinal bracing is recommended which has not been showed to effect the progression of the curvature until it reaches a measurement above 30 degrees Cobb’s angle. (2)  While there have been no research attempts to introduce the concept of highly invasive surgery into the early intervention of scoliosis, one study shows a worse outcome for patients whom had the surgery at a younger age than patients whom were older at the time of the surgery. (3)  Spine Cor has attempted to introduce bracing into the realm of early scoliosis intervention with little to no success. (4)  Despite early scoliosis intervention in terms of patient age and size of curvature, both bracing and surgery have shown poor results.It is apparent that a non-surgical, non-bracing early scoliosis intervention for the treatment of spinal curvatures and idiopathic adolescent scoliosis is long over-due. 

1.               The early stage scoliosis intervention program is built on the clinical observation that curvatures under 30 degrees when treated using their protocols respond even better than curves over 30 degrees. In most cases of curvatures under the 30 degree mark, full correction to under 10 degrees is not only obtainable, but fairly common.(insert pre post film). Spinal curvatures reduced to below 10 degrees are no longer considered a scoliosis by most authorities meaning it would be defined as a cure. The bio-mechanical reasoning for this response is most likely due to a lack of “crankshaft phenomenon” being present in curves at this smaller level. Radiographic review of smaller curves, under 30 degrees, demonstrate much less visible spinous process rotation at this level indicating less torque, and therefore more flexibility. The higher the degree of flexibility of the curve the greater amount of correction is possible.
2. There are several ways to identify smaller curvatures including visual posture analysis demonstrating a tipped shoulder, high hip, or even translation of the skull or pelvis, scoliometers can detect even relatively small curvatures.  The most reliable and definitive test would be to take a spinal x-ray. Other factors to consider when suspecting a possible curvature are forward head posture or sway back type postures. For more information regarding early detection of scoliosis curvatures please visit the “early stage scoliosis intervention” section of this website.

1. References:
2. 1.  Lonstein & Carlson, The prediction of curve progression in untreated scoliosis during growth, J Bone Surg Am 1984 Sep;66(7):1061-71

1. 2.  The etiology of Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis

  Am J Orthop 2002 Jul;31 (7) :387-95

 Ahn et al, New Hampshire Spine Institute

1.  3.  Brace treatment during pubertal growth spurt in girls with idiopathic scoliosis (IS): A prospective trial
   comparing two different concepts                                                                                                 
2.  Pediatr Rehabil 2005 Jul-Sep;8(3):199-206 (ISSN: 363-8491)
   Weiss HR; Weiss GM

1. 4.  Hawes M., University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA. Pediatr Rehabil. 2006