New Guidelines

A systematic review of all scientific literature published by leading experts on the treatment of scoliosis led to the recent publication in the journal Scoliosis and Spinal Disorders of the new international guidelines drafted by the International Society for the Treatment of Scoliosis (SOSORT). The previous review was conducted in 2011, while the first publication dates back to 2005.

Among the 21 authors, from countries such as the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, Spain, France, Poland, Greece, ISICO represented the largest group with Prof. Stefano Negrini, Scientific Director of ISICO, Dr. Fabio Zaina, Dr. Sabrina Donzelli, and Dr. Michele Romano, Technical Director of ISICO.

“We started from a review of the studies on everything related to the subject of scoliosis, from definitions to therapeutic goals and from the examinations to be carried out, to exercises, to braces and lastly to screening”, explains Dr. Sabrina Donzelli, physiatrist at ISICO, among the authors of the guidelines, “in this way, starting from the available scientific evidence, therapeutic recommendations have been elaborated, summarized in tables, which represent a fundamental tool able to guide the clinician in the ideal therapeutic choices for each patient.”

Tables are an important tool in the treatment of scoliosis as they allow the definition of therapeutic levels with respect to the age or entity of the pathology, e.g. the treatment can range from simple observation of minimum curves to the recommendation to wear a brace for up to 24 hours.

“It is a document of great importance for all professionals in the treatment of scoliosis”, continues Dr. Donzelli, “available online, in English, useful even for patients and their families. Considering the immense amount of work that is behind the guidelines, it was decided to divide in the future next editions into sub-chapters, for example scoliosis in adults, braces only, or exercises only.”

“To conclude, I would like to underline that the recommendations of the guidelines”, Dr. Donzelli tells us, “must always be accompanied by the experience of the professional team, from the doctor to the orthopedic technician, as scoliosis is a complex pathology. The guidelines recommend that scoliosis should always be treated by experienced professionals. The experience of each professional is defined by a minimum number of visits and patients that must be visited/treated each year. The guidelines also recommend using therapies in which one is skilled in order to guarantee better patient management and promote therapeutic success.”

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