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From measurement to meaning: ISICO’s Award-Nominated research at SOSORT 2026

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When the international scoliosis community gathers in Turin, Italy, from 29 April to 2 May 2026 for the SOSORT International Congress, ISICO will be present with a rich and multifaceted scientific contribution.

Alongside the abstracts previously announced, an additional study —“A 3D Surface Topography-Derived Method for the Aesthetic Evaluation of Trunk Asymmetry in AIS” — has also been accepted for poster presentation, further expanding ISICO’s contribution to the congress (a total of 23 abstracts: 19 oral presentations and 4 poster presentations).

Among this body of work, two studies have been selected to compete for the prestigious SOSORT Award. Both focus on a theme that lies at the heart of conservative treatment for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS): aesthetic outcome. Not only how we measure it. But how patients experience it.

TRACE2: bringing precision to clinical aesthetic evaluation

The SOSORT Award nominee “TRACE2 (Trunk Aesthetic Clinical Evaluation, Version 2). The New Rasch-Compatible Scale to Enhance Aesthetic Evaluation in Clinical Practice and Research” represents a significant methodological evolution, aligning clinical observation with psychometric robustness. Aesthetic improvement is formally recognized by SOSORT as a primary goal of rehabilitation in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Yet, measuring aesthetics in a reliable and reproducible way has always been challenging.

TRACE has long been part of everyday clinical practice. With TRACE2, ISICO takes a decisive step forward. Developed through an international Delphi process and validated using Rasch analysis — the gold standard in modern psychometrics — TRACE2 expands the original 4-item scale to 13 items while preserving clinical practicality.
The new version increases measurement sensitivity and reliability, allowing clinicians to discriminate trunk asymmetry more precisely and to compare outcomes across patients and populations with greater confidence.

TRACE2 does not complicate practice. It strengthens it. As Stefano Negrini, ISICO Scientific Director and first author of the study, explains: “We have always known that aesthetics matter deeply to our patients. TRACE2 allows us to measure trunk asymmetry with the rigor required by modern psychometrics, without losing the simplicity needed in daily clinical work”.
Watch the short video in which Stefano Negrini presents TRACE2. 

When improvement is visible — but not yet felt

The second SOSORT Award nominee, “Early Clinical Improvement, Delayed Patient Perception: Divergent Aesthetic Outcomes During Brace Treatment for Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis” explores a crucial and often overlooked dimension of conservative treatment: the relationship between measurable improvement and patient perception.

In a large cohort of 1,004 adolescents treated with rigid and very rigid “push-up” braces, clinician-assessed trunk aesthetics (TRACE) improved significantly within the first four months of treatment. Objective changes were clear, early, and statistically robust.

Patients, however, did not perceive a comparable improvement until the end of treatment, as reflected in the SRS-22 self-image domain.

This temporal divergence between objective aesthetic correction and subjective self-perception highlights an important clinical reality: physical changes and psychological adaptation do not necessarily evolve in parallel.
The findings suggest that clinicians should not assume that measurable improvement automatically translates into perceived benefit. Instead, actively sharing objective results during treatment may enhance patient awareness, motivation, and possibly adherence.

As Francesco Negrini, rehabilitation physician at ISICO reflects: “We often assume that when the body improves, the patient immediately feels better. Our data show that this is not necessarily the case. Recognizing and addressing this gap may help us improve communication and support patients more effectively throughout treatment”.

This study deepens our understanding of the patient experience during bracing and reinforces the importance of integrating objective assessment with patient-reported outcomes in everyday clinical care.

SOSORT Melbourne: 8 Isico abstracts

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There are 8 abstracts, which will be presented by Isico at the annual Sosort international conference, held from May 1–5 in Melbourne, Australia.

Once again, Isico will be in the front row at the International SOSORT meeting, and one of the abstracts, entitled “Developing a new tool for scoliosis screening in a tertiary specialist setting using artificial intelligence: a retrospective study on 10,813 patients,” is also competing for this edition of the Sosort Award, which, as we recall, Isico won for several consecutive years. 
The other abstracts that will be presented by our expert physiatrists, Dr Sabrina Donzelli, and Dr Fabio Zaina, and by Michele Romano, Director of Physiotherapy at Isico, are:
– Adherence to physiotherapeutic scoliosis-specific exercises during adolescence: voices from patients and their families: a qualitative content analysis;
– Bracing interventions can help adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis with surgical indications:
– A systematic review; SOSORT Guidelines for scoliosis conservative treatment: an update
– It is worth treating an adolescent with idiopathic scoliosis when bone maturity has passed US Risser 2: Bracing can improve curves and aesthetics
– Outcome measures in scoliosis treatment: Is the Cobb angle enough?
– The apex vertebrae of the scoliotic curves; a study of their frequency in 11758 cases
– Evaluation of thoracic flexibility in the sagittal plane with the Thoracic Stiffness Test: intra- and inter-operator reliability

Therefore, a reconfirmation for Isico with full marks among the best researchers in the world in the rehabilitation treatment of spinal pathologies.

Natural History of Scoliosis: the development of a predictive model

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There are two abstracts on the natural history of scoliosis that Isico is going to present at the 56th SRS conference scheduled for next September in the United States: “Predicting Future Curve Severity for Juvenile Idiopathic Scoliosis: A Natural History Study” and “Predicting Future Curve Severity Requires Different Models for Adolescent and Juvenile Idiopathic Scoliosis “.
Abstracts which constitute research carried out by Isico in collaboration with the Canadian University of Alberta and Dr Erik Parent. The preliminary results of this research study will be presented by Prof Stefano Negrini at the Research Grant Outcome Symposium organized by SRS and scheduled for March 6 from 9 to 11 ET US.
Most models to predict future Scoliosis severity have not been validated; many previous samples included treated patients limiting our understanding of the natural history. 

“Our aim was to predict future curve severity at a time point of the clinician’s choice during adolescence using data from x-rays obtained before starting treatment in patients with a diagnosis of Juvenile Idiopathic Scoliosis (JIS) – explains dr Sabrina Donzelli, one of the authors of this research study – we included 2331 patients with a diagnosis of JIS, under age 26, previously untreated.
The data obtained through the radiographs confirm the factors involved in the severity of scoliosis: for juvenile scoliosis the age at onset and the extent of the curve, and for adolescent scoliosis the Risser stage and female gender. The idea is to optimize the use of this data for clinical purposes “.

That is, to be able to validate the model to verify  whether it works for another population with similar characteristics. “During the webinar to which I have been invited – says Prof. Negrini – I will present the preliminary data not only of the two abstracts but also of the other analyses developed by the Canadian university. As a team, we are continuing to validate one model with which we can create an algorithm to predict the cases with the highest development risk.”

SOSORT 2020: all Isico’s abstracts “pass the test”

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Isico will once again be in the front line at the International SOSORT meeting, this year being held from 27th to 29th April in Melbourne, Australia, during Spine Week (27th April to 1st May, 2020).

“All the abstracts we presented have been accepted” reports Dr Sabrina Donzelli, Isico physiatrist and author of the research paper that is in the running for the SOSORT Award. “This is an extremely gratifying result, considering the number of abstracts submitted, and it underlines the fact that we remain firmly committed to research. We are also delighted and honoured to feature, once again in the list of the “top ten” studies presented”. 

In short, Isico has, once again, received full marks from the global spine rehabilitation community. Let us not forget that last year the Isico study entitled Effect of sport activity added to full-time bracing in 785 Risser 0-2 adolescents with high degree idiopathic scoliosis, which also featured among the top ten “nominations”, went on to win the SOSORT Award.

Here, then, are the studies that our specialists will be presenting this year in Melbourne: Is swimming helpful or harmful in adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis (Dr Alessandra Negrini, physiotherapist); The effect of dance performance on idiopathic scoliosis progression in adolescents (Dr Michele Romano, physiotherapist), ISYQOL, a Rasch-consistent tool for quality of life evaluation in scoliosis patients during adulthood: comparison with the gold standard (Dr Fabio Zaina, physiatrist).

Finally, Dr Sabrina Donzelli will be giving two lectures. The first one, which is entitled Is clinical measurement of the hump helpful for X-ray prescription and a good predictor of the curve? Results from ageometrical study from a large prospective cohort, was also given at the last SRS meeting, while the second is the one that has been shortlisted for the SOSORT Award: Final results of brace treatment of adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis prediction: 30 days out-of-brace is better than in-brace X-ray.