Effectiveness of Chêneau brace treatment for idiopathic scoliosis: prospective study in 79 patients followed to skeletal maturity

A prospective observational study according to SOSORT and SRS recommendations comprised 79 patients (58 girls and 21 boys) with progressive idiopathic scoliosis, treated with Chêneau brace and physiotherapy, with initial Cobb angle between 20 and 45 degrees, no previous brace treatment, Risser 4 or more at the final evaluation and minimum one year follow-up after weaning the brace. Achieving 50° of Cobb angle was considered surgical recommendation.At follow-up 20 patients (25.3%) improved, 18 patients (22.8%) were stable, 31 patients (39.2%) progressed below 50 degrees and 10 patients (12.7%) progressed beyond 50 degrees (2 of these 10 patients progressed beyond 60 degrees). Progression concerned the younger and less skeletally mature patients.Conservative treatment with Chêneau orthosis and physiotherapy was effective in halting scoliosis progression in 48.1% of patients. The results of this study suggest that bracing is effective in reducing the incidence of surgery in comparison with natural history.Idiopathic scoliosis is a developmental deformation of the spine and the trunk, which significantly influences the form and function of a young organism. The extensive interest of medical experts in the treatment of spinal deformities results from the incidence of such disorders in the adolescent population (2-3%), health consequences of the disease progression as well as social and economic costs [1-4]. On the other hand, the health related quality of life of the adults with mild to moderate idiopathic scoliosis, including individuals conservatively treated in adolescence, seems very good [5-7]. Bracing and physiotherapy are the non-surgical methods of treatment practiced for mild to moderate scoliosis. The aim of brace treatment is to stop deterioration of the deformity, which is a natural history of progressive scoliosis beyond 25 degrees in immature adolescents. Within the group of rigid Thoraco-Lumbo-Sacral Orthoses (TLSO), the Cheneau brace is most widely used i