In adolescents with onset of scoliosis, the wearing of orthopedic corset would be indicated to slow the progression of the disease. American researchers at the University of Iowa found that in patients suffering from this deformity of the spine at a more or less advanced stage, the corset was associated with a degree of skeletal curvature of less than 50 degrees, c ‘that is, below the threshold from which surgery is normally indicated.
The more teens put on their corsets, the better the results were for their spine.
The study by Dr. Weinstein, professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of Iowa, was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
It consisted in studying the effect of the corset on 150 young patients aged 10 to 15 years suffering from more or less severe scoliosis. Doctors asked them to wear this medical device for 18 hours every day. Follow-up was carried out for two years. The results were compared to 100 other teens with scoliosis who only had follow-up visits.
Early treatment for progressive scoliosis
After two years of follow-up, 72% of the “corset” group showed a mature skeleton whose deformity did not require surgery, whereas they were only 42% in the group without a corset.
If the medical prescription was to wear the corset for 18 hours each day, it turns out that the teens who came closest to this recommendation showed the best results. Wearing a brace 13 hours a day has indeed been associated with success rates of between 90 and 93%, specifies the site medscape.
Based on these conclusions, Dr. Weinstein recommends detection early enough to recommend the wearing of the corset to adolescents whose spine deformity presents a progressive risk that may require surgery later: “Early detection is a principle that we must promote in medical staff “.