ATLANTA —Treating adolescent idiopathic scoliosis with a nocturnal Providence thoracolumbosacral orthosis (TLSO) can effectively change the natural history of scoliosis progression, according to research presented by Hannah Godlewski, CO, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Orthotics and Prosthetics Department, at the Association of Children’s Prosthetic-Orthotic Clinics Annual Meeting, here.
The retrospective study included 80 patients, 71 females and 9 males, with a mean age of 12 who completed treatment with a Providence orthosis at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Children’s Orthopedics of Atlanta. The researchers found that 46% of the patients in the study had no curve progression after the conclusion of treatment.
Hannah Godlewski
“The investigation also showed that a lower rate of progression compared with the natural history data,” Godlewski said. “It was more successful based on a lower impact curve at initiation, a lower magnitude of curvature and the more skeletally mature that the patients were, and the highest success rate gathered was for thoracic lumbar curves and lumbar curves.”
According to Godlewski, the success rate for the patients in this study is comparable to other studies reporting full-time use of TLSOs.
“So the question is whether it is worth the tradeoff of a higher success rate for a lower quality of life?” Godlewski said.
For more information:
Godlewski H. Investigation of the Providence TLSO for treatment of scoliosis. Presented at: Association of Children’s Prosthetic-Orthotic Clinics Annual Meeting. April 10-13, 2013. Atlanta.
