Effectiveness of posture correction girdle as conservative treatment for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis : a preliminary study

Abstract

A six-month quasi-experimental pretest-posttest clinical trial has been conducted to assess the ability of a posture correction girdle to control theprogression of scoliosis and its corrective effect by comparing when the girdle is donned as opposed to when it is doffed. Comparisons of the Cobb’sangle examined by using radiography are carried out to observe pre-intervention versus post-intervention changes as well as pre-intervention versusin-brace correction after 6 months. It is found that the survival rate of the posture correction girdle is up to 90%. More importantly, the results showthat there is a significant difference when the girdle is donned as opposed to when it is doffed. These results prove that the use of a pressure garmentinduces corrective forces onto the spine. This study therefore demonstrates the possibility of using textile materials for spinal or those and for othertypes of functional garments.