Spinecor Centers of America

Why so many Scoliosis patients are using the Spinecor Brace and the Schroth Method of Exercises together.
10/21/09
Scoliosis Systems LLP
1-800-281-5010
www.scoliosissystems.com
The Spinecor flexible brace for scoliosis marked a major paradigm shift in non-surgical methods for scoliosis treatment (1993). For more than fifty years, clinical researchers have studied the effectiveness of spine bracing for scoliosis with mixed reviews. In 1957 the first Milwaukee brace was used as a post-surgical support and not a corrective device as it is today. Since then, changes in scoliosis bracing have been limited to the replacement of metal braces with plastics which are easily molded, but no more comfortable or effective. Studies reported in the peer reviewed literature indicate the Milwaukee Brace remains the most effective rigid brace, although not necessarily significantly so. Not until 2004, when clinical researchers reported an 87% success rate with the Spinecor Scoliosis Brace, has a brace been reported to be significantly more effective than any other. The outcomes reported in the study performed at St. Justine Hospital for Children were met with skepticism, and resulted in possibly more questions than answers. The Spinecor research was funded by the Canadian Government with more than 20 million dollars; but the concept of the Spinecor Brace was not a new one. Similar early brace designs used elastics straps and corset-like jackets like the current Spinecor Brace; what’s new is advancements in Scoliosis diagnosis. Immature spines with scoliosis are destined to become misshaped, unless the spine can be straightened before bone-forming cells (called Osteoclasts) solidify the shape of the bone as it matures. Spinecor brace researchers braced scoliosis patients with curvatures as small as 15 degrees, and in younger less mature patients, a departure from current medical standards which recommend scoliosis bracing between 25 and 40 degrees. These more mature curvatures (25-40 degrees) are more resistant to change and less likely to respond to bracing of any kind. This may be the most significant reason the Spinecor brace was found to be superior in stopping scoliosis progression, as well as being the only brace reported to create long lasting reduction of scoliosis curvatures. New low radiation and non-radiation imaging (MRI and Formetric Optical Scanning) has made it possible to diagnose scoliosis curvatures earlier and with less risks, however, the “wait and see” approach of orthopedic management continues to result in no treatment during this most critical time period. Researchers have found the time of intervention to be as important or more important than the type of intervention. The patients who are fortunate enough to be treated at the time of the scoliosis
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discovery have been shown to have better outcomes than those who delayed care, evidence that will one day result in changed protocols for Orthopedists. For now, the majority of those patients seeking non-surgical care have been instructed to wait while structural change is setting in. However, Dr. Lamantia and Dr. Gary Deutchman of Scoliosis Systems LLP see things differently. As the largest Spinecor Brace providers in the United States, Scoliosis Systems LLP now offers the Spinecor Brace with the Schroth Scoliosis Exercise program. Changes were made after a group of American doctors were invited to tour 8 orthopedic clinics throughout Europe, each offering non-surgical care to scoliosis patients. This in conjunction with the Schroth Clinic for Scoliosis in Bad Sobernheim Germany opening its door to American doctors for training and certification, has brought the Schroth Method for Scoliosis to the forefront. This is why so many Spinecor patients in the United States, as well as patients choosing not to use a scoliosis brace are seeking practitioners certified in the Schroth Exercise Method. Katharina Schroth founded and developed the Schroth Method by created a physiotherapeutic approached designed to reshape the rib cage and de-rotate the spine with breathing techniques and isometric exercises. Since 1927, the Schroth Clinic for Scoliosis has accepted Scoliosis and Kyphosis patients on an in-patient basis, effectively managing the deformity associated with scoliosis without bracing or surgery. Recently the Katharina Schroth Hospital (Bad Sobernheim, Germany) was purchased by the Asklepios Health care system. Asklepios operates and owns nearly 100 hospitals throughout Europe.
Dr. Marc Lamantia and Dr. Gary Deutchman of Scoliosis Systems LLP own and operate 15 Spinecor Scoliosis clinical practices around the United States which now offer Schroth Intensive Exercise Programs for Scoliosis as well. The Spinecor brace for Scoliosis was designed to allow for movement during the treatment, a revolutionary idea which has set the Spinecor brace apart from other bracing methods, however, mature spines require more intensive methods to re-educate movement patterns and mobilization techniques to help reshape the ribcage. The Schroth method is based on a simple and elegant idea of body blocks. Katarina Schroth saw the shoulder girdle, torso and pelvis as opposing blocks, each rotating against the other, creating the 3 dimensional deformity associated with scoliosis. The Schroth Method uses mobilization techniques designed to expand the flat areas of the ribcage, while de-rotating the spine with breathing. “We are offering The Schroth Method as Intensive Scoliosis Therapy to our patients because our belief is that the Schroth Method gives our patients the best opportunity to avoid surgery for scoliosis”, Dr. Marc Lamantia. “The Spinecor brace is a perfect match for the Schroth Method, both are attempting to de-rotate the spine with the use of muscle memory and postural awareness.”, Dr. Gary Deutchman. Dr. Gail Lauro, also a Certified Schroth provider, believes, “the awareness of the Schroth Method is growing in the same way the Spinecor brace has become increasing more well known, from patient to patient.” Scoliosis care providers, parents and patients themselves are less likely to accept a “wait and see” approach to treating scoliosis, and are becoming more active in researching
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conservative treatment methods from different parts of the world. This is why the Schroth Method for Scoliosis will continue to become increasingly popular with therapists, doctors and patients interested in avoiding Scoliosis surgery.
For more information on Scoliosis Systems LLP, The Spinecor Brace, or the Schroth Method, visit www.scoliosissystems.com or call 1-800-281-5010
The Scoliosis Care Foundation

Click here to view the PDF of Scoliosis Feature – Review of the Literature: Non-operative Scoliosis Treatment from The American Chiropractor.

Click here to view the PDF of News To The Profession – The Scoliosis Care Foundation Calls on the Chiropractic Profession for Help from The American Chiropractor.

Review of the Literature: Non-operative Scoliosis Treatment by Marc Lamantia
In The April issue of the American Chiropractor

from 4th International Conference on Conservative Management of Spinal Deformities
Boston, MA, USA. 13–16 May 2007

The electronic version of this abstract is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.scoliosisjournal.com/content/2/S1/S23

Objective

To determine if non-surgical treatment using the Spinecor brace can effectively reduce adult scoliosis curvature magnitude.

Study design

Twenty-three adults between the ages eighteen and sixty-five years, seeking treatment for adolescent onset idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) were fitted with the Spinecor Orthosis [1] after being exposed to an anterior-posterior (AP) full spine and lateral full spine radiograph, with a minimum of three months between exposures and a maximum of one year. Measurements of the radiographs were performed using a digital inclinometer in order to reduce error and all projections were exposed without the orthosis.

Results

Patients were separated into three groups based on curvature location: Thoracic (T), Thoracolumbar (TL) and Lumbar (L). T-tests were performed using the initial and follow-up Cobb measurements of AP radiographs for each of the three groups. The maximum (T) reduced from 94 degrees to 77 degrees (-12.2%) following a minimum of three months of treatment. The maximum (TL) measurement reduced from 31 degrees to 23 degrees (-13.4%), and the (L) minimum reduced from 17 degrees to 11.1 degrees (-15.3%). The patients in the “Thoracic” group (n = 20) had a mean average change of -5.27 degrees. The “Thoracolumbar” group (n = 3) had a mean average change of -6.0 degrees. The Lumbar group (n = 15) had a mean average change of -4.40 degrees.

Conclusion

These findings suggest the use of a flexible strapping orthosis (Spinecor) is an effective tool in the management of adult scoliosis. Long term studies are necessary to determine the sustainability of these early positive results.

References

Coillard C, Leroux MA, Badeaux J, Rivard CH: SPINECOR: a new therapeutic approach for idiopathic scoliosis.

Stud Health Technol Inform 2002, 88:215-217. PubMed Abstract