Background: The purpose of this study was to analyze patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) treated with bracing at The Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne Australia according to the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) criteria and evaluate the effectiveness of this treatment method.
Patients and methods: During the 1 year survey 125 patients with AIS were treated with bracing and 52 (42 %) of those fulfilled the SRS criteria. Measurements were performed according to the follow-up visits at 6 and 12 months.
Results: The mean age of the patients was 13.1 years and the mean Cobb angle at the start of therapy was 31.8°. Thirtynine (76 %) patients were treated successfully and an improvement of the Cobb angle was achieved in 26 (51 %) patients. A further 6 patients (12 %) required surgery and 7 (14 %) showed a Cobb angle of more than 45° after reaching skeletal maturity.
Conclusion: The results show the effectiveness of bracing as a treatment method for patients with AIS. The SRS criteria provide good guidance to classify patients who are likely to benefit from this treatment. A better comparison of the outcome with other studies can be achieved by using these criteria.