nal fusion surgery is unfavourable for the AIS patient, except in rare cases. There is no evidence that spinal fusion surgery improves quality of life for AIS patients versus natural history. The risks and long-term costs, in terms of pain and suffering, after spinal fusion surgery exceeds what is reasonable for AIS patients, putting the common practice of surgery in question, except in extreme cases.

Currently, adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is principally regarded as benign, but some researchers have cited serious or extreme effects, including severe pain, cardiopulmonary compromise, social isolation, and even early death. Therefore, exploration of the long-term effects of AIS, the most common type of idiopathic scoliosis, is warranted. The purpose of this review was to examine the long-term studies on the natural history of AIS and/or reviews concerning the long-term effects of untreated AIS. A PubMed search was conducted using the key words idiopathic scoliosis, long-term effects and idiopathic scoliosis, natural history. For further analysis, references cited in those studies were reviewed for additional, related evidence not retrieved in the initial PubMed search. A review of the pertinent bibliography showed that older natural history studies did not distinguish between late-onset scoliosis (referred to in this paper as AIS) and early-onset scoliosis (EOS). The more recent studies offer such important distinction and reach to the general conclusion that untreated AIS does not lead to severe consequences with respect to signs and symptoms of scoliosis. It is possible that earlier studies may have included patient populations with EOS, leading to the perception of untreated scoliosis as having an unusually high morbidity rate. Studies on the long-term effects of AIS that specifically excluded EOS patients conclude that AIS is a benign disorder. This indicates that for research and reporting purposes, it is important to distinguishing between AIS and EOS. This will allow the practitioner and patient and their families to decide on an optimal treatment plan based on the most appropriate prognosis.

Introduction Long-term follow-ups of untreated patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) indicate that the consequences of AIS over a lifetime are minimal, sometimes moderate in more severe cases, however, never life-threatening. In light of these findings, the historical indications for treatment should be investigated according to current evidence. This critical review discusses the treatment methods for scoliosis. Materials and methods Recent reviews have been investigated for their contribution to evidence in the field of scoliosis treatment, especially the impact of the results obtained on the historical modes of treatment. Results From these findings, we may conclude that there is promising evidence for the application of physiotherapy in the treatment of scolio-sis in children or adolescents and for adults with curvatures exceeding 35° Cobb. There is a stronger evidence for the application of (hard) braces during growth. There is no evidence for spinal fusion surgery for AIS. The use of surgery should be limited in patients with scoliosis of other origin. Conclusion There is some evidence for the use of physiotherapy as a treatment for scoliosis. There is strong evidence for the use of hard braces during growth.

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Long-term follow-up of untreated patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) indicates that, with the exception of some extremely severe cases, AIS does not have a significant impact on quality of life and does not result in dire consequences. In view of the relatively benign nature of AIS and the long-term complications of surgery, the indications for treatment should be reviewed. Furthermore, recent studies have shown that scoliosis-specific exercises focusing on postural rehabilitation can positively influence the spinal curvatures in growing adolescents. Experiential postural re-education is a conservative, non-invasive approach, and its role in the management of AIS warrants further study. This article reviews current evidence for the inclusion of various forms of postural reeducation in the management of AIS. Recent comprehensive reviews have been researched including a manual and PubMed search for evidence regarding the effectiveness of physical/postural re-education/physiotherapy programs in growing AIS patients. This search revealed that there were few studies on the application of postural re-education in the management of AIS. These studies revealed that postural re-education in the form of exercise rehabilitation programs may have a positive influence on scoliosis; however, the various programs were difficult to compare. More research is necessary. There is at present Level 1 evidence for the effectiveness of Schroth scoliosis exercises in the management of AIS. Whether this evidence can be extrapolated to include other forms of scoliosis- pattern-specific exercises requires further investigation. Because corrective postures theoretically reduce the asymmetric loading of the spinal deformities and reverse the vicious cycle of spinal curvature progression, their integration into AIS programs may be beneficial and should be further examined.