Abstract
BACKGROUND: Millions of people worldwide suffer from back pain and muscle weakness due to adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). It has been found that Schroth exercises (SE) are the most effective treatment for AIS. However, it is still not clear how combining SE with asymmetric spinal stabilization exercises (ASSE) can impact back pain and trunk extensor muscle endurance (TE). This study aims to compare the effects of SE with and without ASSE on back pain and TE in AIS. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 40 boys aged 10 to 18 years who had AIS. They were divided into three groups: SE+ASSE (n = 15), SE only (n = 15), and a waitlist control (n = 10). The participants underwent exercise training for 50-70 minutes three times a week for up to 12 weeks. The study evaluated two variables, namely, back pain (measured with a Visual Analog Scale or VAS) and TE (measured with the Biering-Sorensen test), before and after the interventions. For statistical analysis, a post-hoc Bonferroni test following analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used at α = 0.05. RESULTS: According to a study, patients who underwent a combination of SE and ASSE experienced a significant reduction in back pain (VAS score = 2.9±0.8 to 0.1±0.4) as compared to those who only underwent SE (VAS = 2.7±0.9 to 1.5±1.2) and the control group. No significant difference was found between the SE group and the control group in terms of back pain reduction. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in TE among the three groups. However, the combined exercises showed a numerical improvement (75.6±52.5 sec to 119.2±62.6 sec) compared to the other groups (P = 0.311). CONCLUSION: The combination of SE and ASSE is more effective in reducing back pain in AIS than SE alone or control. Although there was no significant difference between the three groups in terms of improving the TE, the SE and ASSE groups showed better results numerically.