Early Stage Scoliosis Intervention is the best opportunity for a scoliosis patient to overcome and successfully manage their condition. This will require a completely new treatment schedule and system of treatment process.

“The treatment goals for an early stage scoliosis intervention program should be to hold the curvature under 20 degrees during the growing years and have the curvature measure no more than 25 degrees by the time the patient reaches skeletal maturity”

While there is still no cure for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, theories abstracted from current research suggests the natural course of the condition can be altered with an active rehabilitation program that targets the involuntary postural control centers in the patient’s brain.

For many early stage scoliosis patients, treatment will be a necessary and ongoing process until they reach skeletal maturity (16-17 for females and 18-20 for males), and some patients will require ongoing treatment throughout life. However, the risk of progression significant curve progression in skeletally immature patients and skeletally mature patients can greatly reduced by developing a “20/25 vision” ongoing treatment plan during their “growing years” and before skeletal maturity.

Current research has found that younger patients with spinal curvatures that measure 0-19 degrees have a 14%-22% risk of further progression while they are growing, but the risk increases more than 3 fold (68%) for the same patients if their increases to the 20-29 degree range (1). Therefore, it is vitally important to halt or reduce the curvature below the 20 degree mark in order to reduce the adolescent patient’s risk of progression by up to 46%.

Long-term research has discovered that idiopathic adolescent scoliosis patients whom have spinal curvatures that measure greater than 25 degrees have a 68% risk of continued progression in their scoliotic curvature throughout adulthood that will cause severe pain and disability, however scoliosis patients who whose curvatures measured 25 degrees or less only experienced further curve progression 8% of the time throughout adulthood.(2)

(1) Lonstein et el, The prediction of curve progression in untreated idiopathic scoliosis. J Bone Joint Surg AM.1984,661061-1071

(2) Curve Progression in Idiopathic Scoliosis – Follow up study to skeletal maturity
Ken-Jin Tan, et al.
SPINE.2009.vol34(7).697-700