Abstract
Abstract : Scoliosis is a condition that can cause a great deal of pain and discomfort, affecting health-related quality of life and activities of daily living, not only on a physical but also on a psychological level. The main aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness in the treatment of scoliosis. A secondary aim was to use the current available evidence to develop an exercise-based strategy to address scoliosis. A systematic review methodology was used to analyse previously published peer-reviewed, evidence-based strategies for the treatment of scoliosis. The online databases that were used included: EBSCOhost, MEDLINE, SPORTDiscuss, Springerlink, PEDro and Health Source– Consumer Edition. The following keywords and a Boolean Phrases were used: (scoliosis) AND (effect*) OR (exercise*). Search strategies included: online database searching, manual searching and snowballing. Inclusion criteria consisted of randomised and non-randomised controlled trials as well as observational studies that included cohort trials and case-series trials, prospective and preliminary longitudinal case-control studies. Additional inclusion criteria included studies on both male and female patients (of all age groups) who suffered from either functional or structural scoliosis, with a Cobb angle less than 60°, and studies published in either English or Afrikaans, that utilized therapeutic exercise in treating scoliosis. Furthermore, only full-text articles with references published between 1990 and 2017 and studies that achieved a PEDro score larger than 5 and an Oxford scale of less than 3 were included. The following exclusion criteria were utilized: studies that used interventions other than exercise in the treatment of scoliosis, non-peer-reviewed articles, websites and abstracts, and studies published before January 1990 or later than December 2017. From the initial 1 110 identified studies, 66 articles were retrieved for detailed evaluation and of these, seven studies were finally included: two studies used Pilates training as an intervention and they reported significant decreases in the Cobb angle (p<0.05), increase trunk flexibility and significantly reduced pain of scoliosis patients compared to the control groups. Three studies used the Schroth Method and reported significant decreases in Cobb angle (p<0.05),...
M.Phil. (Biokinetics)