Spinal Bracing in Adults with Painful Degenerative Scoliosis: a Randomized Controlled Open Trial

Overview

The purpose of this study is to compare the efficacy on low back pain intensity at 6 months after randomization of a custom-molded lumbar-sacral orthosis as an add-on therapy to usual care in people with painful adult degenerative scoliosis.

Adult degenerative scoliosis is a spinal deformity that appears during adulthood, usually after 50 years, on a previous aligned spine or on an idiopathic scoliosis, due to a cascade of degenerative changes. Adult degenerative scoliosis is more prevalent in women than in men and affects up to 40% of adults aged 65 years and older. Overall, 60 to 80% of patients with adult degenerative scoliosis suffer from low back pain. Apart from analgesics, spinal glucocorticoid injections and physiotherapy, the 2 therapeutic options are bracing and spinal surgery. Recent literature has suggested better outcomes with surgery than with conservative care. However, the level of evidence was low and the use of bracing in the conservative approach was not specifically evaluated. Therefore, good quality studies assessing bracing efficacy in adult degenerative scoliosis are lacking, explaining in part why many physicians do not offer it as a first-line therapeutic option and instead refer patients to surgery. In a retrospective study of 38 patients with adult degenerative scoliosis, the use of a custom-molded lumbar-sacral orthosis, for a minimum of 6h/d, was associated with a reduction in curve progression as measured with the Cobb angle and with an improvement in pain and activity limitations, at 5-year follow-up. We hypothesize that a custom-molded lumbar-sacral orthosis as an add-on therapy to usual care (i.e. a standardized prescription of 20 outpatient physiotherapy sessions) could decrease symptoms in people with painful adult degenerative scoliosis as compared to usual care.

Conditions

Interventions

Eligibility

Locations (1)

Outcomes

Central Contacts