UK Katharina Schroth Centre is now open!!!

[Rilla4Ever]

Hi,

I am very pleased to say that the Scoliosis SOS - UK Rehabilitation Centre for Scoliosis is now open and we are currently taking bookings for May 2006. For more information about the UK Clinic please visit www.scoliosissos.com

Scoliosis SOS Ltd. Rehabilitation Centre
Top Street
Martlesham
Suffolk
IP12 4RB
England
(00 44) 1394 383 258
Email: enquiries@scoliosissos.com

This is the only centre in the world to offer rehabilitation treatment based on the Katharina Schroth method for English-speaking patients.

All medical staff are fully trained and certified in the Katharina Schroth method.

It is a completely safe, non-surgical and non-invasive treatment that has been used successfully in Europe since 1921.

Regards,

Erika Maude
The Scoliosis Tree - www.erikamaude.com

[Jinseeker]

I don't know if you got my e-mail but i've e-mailed you along time ago, you never replied. I'm very skeptical about your program and i have viewed and read your website, and I'm glad you've started your very own rehabilitation center. But not to say the least, i've e-mailed a leading chiropractor/practicioner who personally quit being a chiropractor for the sole purpose of educating the public of the often pursued quacks and deception that the profession entails, especially towards scoliosis patients. His name is Dr. Sam Homola, and this is what he had to say about your before/after photos and your website as a whole:

"The Katharina Schrath photos are altered by lighting and by the positions of her arms. With flat lighting and the arms overhead, the change in the position of the scapulae de-emphasizes the curvature. This anecdotal story ends up with a request for money. You should beware of such programs promoted by individuals."

- Samuel Homola, D.C.

It totally makes sense to me as to why you would even lift your arms up in the "after" picture, i'm guessing you were breathing in to untwist and correct your posture the best you can as well. Unless you have further evidence of your correction from where you started, i don't think people should be giving in to the program. I also hope you do dig up that e-mail i sent you, i have more to say there. I don't mean on trying to take your advertisment apart but the public do need to learn about these methods of persuasion.

[Karen Ocker]

Schroth Clinic a valid modality

My husband and I read the German language site-he's fluent.

I did not see anything about Chiro in their publications but they do apparently use it as a small part of their therapy. They have 5,000 cases in their database. And a portion of the treatment/bracing starts as an INPATIENT.

What I have read is that they use BRACING and PHYSIOTHERAPY/EXERCISE. They do not PROMISE to AVOID surgery. In their publications, in reputable journals, their braced patients have less need for surgery.

My understanding is that they are STUDYING these in adults as scoliosis management.

Here is a new abstract comparing the Spincor brace with the Cheneau brace.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...=pubmed_docsum


Here's another abstract:

Entrez PubMed PubMed Services

Curvature progression in patients treated with scoliosis in-patient rehabilitation--a sex and age matched controlled study.

Weiss HR, Weiss G.

Asklepios Katharina-Schroth-Klinik, Korczakstr. 2, D-55566 Bad Sobernheim.

The aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that physiotherapy-based intervention can reduce incidence of progression in children with IS because progression of spinal curvature in patients with idiopathic scoliosis (IS) is of paramount concern in treatment strategies. Follow-up of the outcome of two prospective studies using the outcome parameter, incidence of progression (> or = 5 degrees), in treated and untreated patient groups matched by age, sex, and degree of curvature at diagnosis. A six-week scoliosis in-patient rehabilitation (SIR) program offering patient-specific physiotherapy including intensive therapist-assisted exercise in diagnosis-matched groups. A followup home therapy regime is designed for each patient. Incidence of progression in groups of untreated patients ranged from 1.5-fold (71.2% vs 46.7%) to 2.9-fold (55.8% vs 19.2%) higher than in groups of patients treated with SIR, even when SIR-treated groups included patients with more severe curvatures. Statistically, the differences were highly significant. Postural imbalance is a component of spinal curvature and can be a causative mechanism. However, efforts to test the hypothesis that physical therapies addressing postural imbalance can be used effectively in the treatment of IS have been limited. The results of this study indicate that a supervised program of exercise-based therapies can reduce incidence of progression in children with IS.

Publication Types:
Clinical Trial
Controlled Clinical Trial

PMID: 15457754 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]


Jan 19 2006 04:31:52

Here's an abstract describing their results re: need for surgery after conservative treatment:
1: Stud Health Technol Inform. 2002;91:342-7. Related Articles, Links


Conservative management in patients with scoliosis--does it reduce the incidence of surgery?

Weiss HR, Weiss G, Schaar HJ.

Asklepios Katharina-Schroth-Klinik, Korczakstr. 2, D-55566 Bad Sobernheim.

The effectiveness of conservative scoliosis treatment, including bracing, is widely denied. Like any therapeutic intervention, conservative scoliosis treatment including patient education, techniques of brace moulding, and time-consuming follow-ups is reasonable only if the benefits outweigh the strain placed upon the patient by the treatment. The most important benefit of early intervention in scoliosis is prevention of the need for spinal fusion surgery. Retrospective analysis of the incidence of surgery for patients with scoliosis, by comparison with incidence in an untreated control group. Since 1992 the bracing technique according to Cheneau has been applied in parallel with the scoliosis inpatient intensive rehabilitation programme (SIR). For this study we chose from our data base the scoliosis patients who had conservative treatment at our center between 1993 and 1996. All patients, like those of the control group, were at least 15 years of age at the time they were evaluated for the last time. The incidence of surgery of our group was compared with that reported by a center in Ireland. Of 343 female scoliosis patients with a curve angle of 33.4 AE (SD=18.9), 41 (11.95%) had surgery. The incidence of surgery of our collective was significantly lower than the incidence of surgery of the control group which reported an incidence of 28,1%. The AIS matched group of patients (n = 179) had an incidence of surgery of slightly more than 7%. When compared with a matched control group of untreated patients, incidence of surgery was significantly reduced by SIR combined with bracing. So conservative management is indicated in patients with scoliosis.

PMID: 15457752 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I DO NOT see any quackery in these modalities.
They did get BETTER results WITH Cheneau braces than with Spinecor

Karen

[gerbo]

I've been to german sites as well (I can read german) and the clear message i got was, by all means try schroth, but more than anything else, get a good brace.

The Cheneau brace is apparantly very popular in Germany and rates of correction by the brace quoted to me were impressive, so if eventual outcomes of using a cheneau are good, then that wouldn't surprise me.

I did consider looking at a cheneau brace but was eventually put of because

1) It isn't available in the UK
2) It appears to be extremely bulky and uncomfortable, and might therefore be less suitable for fashion consious teenagers

Whether Schroth has anything additional to offer is unclear although there seems to be some logic in their approach.

What currently puts me of is

1) Studies quoted are outcomes of schroth + bracing, which makes it unclear where any effect has come from
2) Most studies about schroth come from a Dr Weiss, who happens to be the medical director of the schroth institute in Germany, how objective is he going to be?
3) One of the consultants who has dealt with my daughter said that in all his correspondence with german colleagues, none of them ever has mentioned Schrothto him, so even in germany, it might well only exist on the fringe.

I am slightly surprised that "normally" anybody who posts anything slightly alternative on this site gets treated very critical (and often rightly so) not sure why schroth doesn't get this tradional treatment. Also, posting for your own commercial gain usually gets ferocious reactions, which again has been lacking this time.

Why??

gerbo

[Jinseeker]

I'm not against Schroth or anything alternative in regards to my post. But if you view Rilla4ever's personal site (www.erikamaude.com), she is certainly implying that the Schroth method can not only halt progression of idiopathic scoliosis, but even reduce it to a significant degree. She shows pictures and graphs of her back that claims that she reduced her severe curvature in half. And it is this compelling story of hers that's drawing the funds to put up a Schroth clinic in the UK just for many desperate hopefuls expecting to get the same achievement as hers with their condition that appals me. I believe in the Schroth method to be a helpful means of treatment for scoliosis, but i'm simply just here to keep the skepticism up, basically to let people know that sometimes even pictures and x-rays can be deceiving and can't be counted as a fact for hard evidence.

[LindaRacine]

If you feel that a post should be removed, please click on the red and white danger sign in the upper right corner of the individual message. (I did report this thread when it was originally posted.)

Also, if you do a search on Schroth, you will find previous threads where people (including myself) have been critical of the lack of followup studies on this method.

--Linda

[gerbo]

fair enough.....

[BZebra]

I've been to german sites as well (I can read german) and the clear message i got was, by all means try schroth, but more than anything else, get a good brace.

Hello gerbo,

nice to meet you again!

You did quite well sum up what I told you in our forum. Good bracing can be very much more effective than Schroth alone. That is why I recommended you to first get your daughter a decent brace before considering to send her to Germany for learning Schroth. But as you say correctly, the question is also where do you get it from and of cause can you afford it?

Whether Schroth has anything additional to offer is unclear although there seems to be some logic in their approach.

Concerning this question, I can show you my own pictures:

http://www.skoliose-info-forum.de/fi...3_grey_opt.jpg

Left: 13 years old, 58 degrees, before bracing therapy at the beginning of a 6-week rehabilitation program in Katharina-Schroth-Klinik Bad Sobernheim Germany (http://www.asklepios.com/BadSobernheim, http://www.skoliose.com)
Middle: 13 years old, still before bracing therapy after 4 weeks of rehabilitation program.
Right: 14 years old, after one year of bracing therapy (brace by http://rahmouni.de)

My X-Rays:

http://www.skoliose-info-forum.de/pics/BZ_91_91_04.jpg

Left: 13 years old, 58 degrees, before bracing therapy
Middle: 4 weeks later in the first brace, 18 degrees
Right 25 years old, 38 degrees after two years without brace

What I have done in detail:

I have been wearing my brace from 13 to 18 years between 21 and 23 hours a day. After that I continued to wear it during nighttime for another five years.

I have been in the Katharina-Schroth-Klinik 9 times in total. 6 times for a duration of 6 weeks and 3 times for a duration of 4 weeks at the age of 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 23 and 25. It was all paid for by health insurance. The Schroth method is generally recognised in Germany as an effective treatment against scoliosis.

Studies quoted are outcomes of schroth + bracing, which makes it unclear where any effect has come from

There you would have to look at the very small scoliosis which do not get braced at the same time. There are some examples in this book http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/ASI...240980-9824233 which is also available in Spanish language. See also site of the author: http://www.schroth-skoliosebehandlung.de/

Most studies about schroth come from a Dr. Weiss, who happens to be the medical director of the schroth institute in Germany, how objective is he going to be?

This necessarily has to be the case, since there are only 3 clinics which offer the Schroth scoliosis treatment. Two in Germany, one in Spain. Dr. Rigo from Barcelona did also contribute in some of Dr. Weiß publications!

It is however, in my opinion, less important to determine how objective Dr. Weiß really can be about his own method. What matters most are recommendations from other people such as the patients themselves. And concerning this question, you have already been in the respective forum with over 1,000 registered users and over 40,000 postings containing many personal reports.

so even in germany, it might well only exist on the fringe.

This is absolutely true! As already mentioned, up to now there only existed three clinics for Schroth. It is the highest quality level of physiotherapy for scoliosis that exists in Germany (maybe in Europe?) and the method isn't easy to learn for patients either. That is why several weeks of a full time program are required. Unfortunately the overall standard in Germany isn't that great either. We do as well have a lot of quality issues in scoliosis therapy. That is why we cannot recommend many orthopedists in Germany either. Look at our link page http://skoliose-info-forum.de/links.php. We do even list Doctors from France and Spain and it still is rather short. That is because we don't know any more!

http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/showp...98&postcount=7
This clinic will operate along the same lines as those in Spain and Germany. With the UK clinic staff receiving training from the existing clinics and will be run with help from the medical directors of both clinics, with whom I am in close contact.

The mentioned doctors are Dr. Rigo from Barcelona and Dr. Weiß from Germany. From what I gather, Erica received her training in Barcelona.

So, all in all, I can only support Erica's endeavor here. Her source is one of the best we do know. We, being the largest German support forum for scoliosis and other spinal deformities.

If there are any questions, you may also come to the German forum at http://www.skoliose-info-forum.de. You will also find a section for English speakers there http://skoliose-info-forum.de/index.php?c=10. So don't hesitate to ask in English, we will manage.

BZebra

p.s. I apologise for my mistakes! English isn't my first language.

[BZebra]

1. Studies quoted are outcomes of schroth + bracing, which makes it unclear where any effect has come from
2. Most studies about schroth come from a Dr Weiss, who happens to be the medical director of the schroth institute in Germany, how objective is he going to be?

Found a Turkish study (didn't even know they were treating after Schroth there):

Authors: Otman S. Kose N. Yakut Y.

Institution: Professor, School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Hacettepe University, Samanpazari 06100, Ankara, Turkey. Tel. +90 (312) 3051507. Fax. + 90 (312) 3243847 / 3111131. E-mail: sotman@hacettepe.edu.tr / asotman@superonline.com.

Title: The efficacy of Schroth s 3-dimensional exercise therapy in the treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis in Turkey.

Source: Saudi Medical Journal. 26(9):1429-35, 2005 Sep.

NLM Journal Name: Saudi medical journal.

Abstract OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of 3-dimensional therapy in the treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. METHODS: We carried out this study with 50 patients whose average age was 14.15 +/- 1.69 years at the Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation School, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey, from 1999 to 2004. We treated them as outpatients, 5 days a week, in a 4-hour program for the first 6 weeks. After that, they continued with the same program at home. We evaluated the Cobb angle, vital capacity and muscle strength of the patients before treatment, and after 6 weeks, 6 months and one year, and compared all the results. RESULTS: The average Cobb angle, which was 26.1 degrees on average before treatment, was 23.45 degrees after 6 weeks, 19.25 degrees after 6 months and 17.85 degrees after one year (p<0.01). The vital capacities, which were on average 2795 ml before treatment, reached 2956 ml after 6 weeks, 3125 ml after 6 months and 3215 ml after one year (p<0.01). Similarly, according to the results of evaluations after 6 weeks, 6 months and one year, we observed an increase in muscle strength and recovery of the postural defects in all patients (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: Schroth s technique positively influenced the Cobb angle, vital capacity, strength and postural defects in outpatient adolescents.

[klein5]

While the Schroth Method may not be a part of main stream scoliosis treatment, that does not necessarily mean that it doesn't work. Consider the standard procedures for scoliosis care in the US- have the progress of your curve marked with xrays and wear a brace untill your curve is large enough to require surgery. A patient will consistently be told by most physicians- there is nothing you can do, just wear your brace and wait. This is not a very positive outlook. I traveled to Dr. Rigo's clinic in Barcelona,Spain from Wisconsin, USA to learn the the Schroth method of scoliosis exercizes and be fitted with a Rigo/Cheneau brace two years ago. I can see changes in shape of my trunk and my curve slightly decreased in the xrays as well (although the decrease was within the margin or error it is still in the right direction.) To argue whether these changes are because of the brace, exercises, or a combination is irrevelant. The brace holds your body in a position that reduces the curve of your spine and body torsion and the exercises teach you do do the exact same thing while you are not wearing the brace. The Schroth method is a way to do something proactive about your scoliosis and can also help with pain if you have it. A new website is now available about Schroth exercises in the USA with information about the exercises and the first clinic in the US. www.scoliosisrehab.com

[Jinseeker]

I guess i am all for Schroth when it comes to maintenance of a curvature and the relief for pain. I wonder if the person who started and advertised this thread will ever respond.

[gerbo]

To argue whether these changes are because of the brace, exercises, or a combination is irrevelant. The brace holds your body in a position that reduces the curve of your spine and body torsion and the exercises teach you do do the exact same thing while you are not wearing the brace. www.scoliosisrehab.com

of course it is relevant, as you could be putting lots of effort in an aspect of your (self)management for no (proven) benefit at all, it is exactly the kind of argument we keep on seeing re copes/ pettibon etc, the promotion of which on this site is clearly aggressively discouraged.

I do believe there is good evidence about the benefit of good braces in still growing young people, and i do believe that in the UK/ USA bracing isn't really taken seriously enough. However goood evidence re schroth seems to be lacking, so even in europe it appears to be seen as a "marginal" treatment. Saying that, if it makes you feel better......, why not.

[tmom]

Schroth clinic (Bad Sobernheim, Germany)

It is interesting that you call this “marginal” treatment. I just come back from the Schroth clinic (Bad Sobernheim, Germany), where I was for my son’s treatment. They have 20-30 new patients coming every week, and that is considering overall population of Germany and general % of scoliosis cases. I am not advocating for or against this method…

[gerbo]

I am not advocating against it either, but with so many people being treated it should be so easy to provide a study showing progression or improvement in young adolescents through this treatment.

For me the benchmark of good treatment would be the ability to stop progression or improve curves in young people before their growth spurt with significant and previously growing curves

The turkish study quoted before doesn't mean too much in this context as at an average age of 14.5, major growth and risk of progression is past. Quoted improvements could just due to a better "holding" of the body, which is not the same as an improvement in the actual scoliosis.

BZebra, might be able to clarify how "marginal" the treatment is in germany. I picked up somewhere that health insurers in Germany do not pay for it anymore, there must be a reason for that???

[BZebra]

For me the benchmark of good treatment would be the ability to stop progression or improve curves in young people before their growth spurt with significant and previously growing curves

This I guess, is a question of definition. "Good" is something very relative. It depends on the quality of the available alternatives and of the costs, costs in money and quality of life.

Good bracing can be more effective than Schroth, no question. After all, you can wear a brace all day long without having to concentrate on it and going on with your normal live more or less undisturbed. But it is still a brace and not every child or teenager has the intelligence or maturity to understand his or her predicament and will do anything not to wear it.

Dr. Weiß has published a rather good book in English and not very expensive either: http://www.pflaum.de/buecher/physiot..._practice.html

I very much recommend it, though I do not agree with everything in it.
This book contains very good descriptions of the mechanisms at work in progressive scoliosis and how to counteract them. It also contains a good description of the Schroth rehabilitation programme.

Gerbo did however ask "can Dr. Weiß be trusted", and I unfortunately must say that he cannot be trusted in every case! The Rigo System Chêneau brace and other braces he markets are not the best braces available in Germany.

The RSC brace has an average corrective effect of 30-40% of the initial curve (Rigo Wong). This is not enough to prevent progression in every case. Studies have shown that an initial correction of at least 40% is necessary to hold progressive curves or to achieve a slight improvement Landauer. But these are just average values, which mean that in about half of the cases scoliosis would still progress, and at an correction of under 20% bracing doesn't seem to show any effect on the natural development of scoliosis any more! (Castro).

While in Germany there are braces which achieve an average of 80% correction in curves between 20° to 50° and still over 50% in curves with an average of nearly 60° (like mine), Dr. Weiß continues to market the RSC brace and similar ones in Germany, where there exist better alternatives. He continues to market braces which do not offer any security to the patients. The reason for this is of financial nature.

If I had a child with a progressive scoliosis I would not want to gamble there, I would want to make really sure that there is not going to be any further progression. The stronger the curve gets the more difficult it becomes to treat it with non surgical methods.

But this does not mean that one can generally say that the Rigo System Chêneau (RSC) brace is bad just because there are better ones in Germany. You would also have to get them, and while you would have to come to Germany for one of the better braces (at least 4-5 times a year), you can get a RSC in many other countries due to the manufacturing process by CAD-method, meaning that the necessary data for the production are send via email to Barcelona and the ready to use brace is shipped to the patient (the patients doctor) afterwards (Wong, Hong-Kong).

What Dr. Weiß writes about the Schroth method in the mentioned book, in my opinion, is very good and acurate and in accordance with my own experiences. I would consider Schroth the most effective physiotherapeutical method available in German speaking countries. If there exist anything more effective in other countries I do not know.

But naturally bracing can be more effective than physiotherapy and surgery more effective than bracing. It is just that every method has its side effects. The more effective the method, the more severe the possible side effects.

The big advantage of the Schroth rehabilitation programme is the psychological support for brace wearers. Children and teenagers tend to understand better how important it is to wear their braces, when they meet other patients with severe scoliosis and others who also have to wear a brace (and who do manage).

Furthermore the Schroth method is in compliance with the bracing technique. You can do both at the same time and they do exactly the same thing. They correct the curve by changing the posture. It's a great addition to bracing. It helps you to maintain the correction you have achieved in brace without it. Afterall you are not going to wear the brace all your life, neither would you want to.

BZebra, might be able to clarify how "marginal" the treatment is in Germany. I picked up somewhere that health insurers in Germany do not pay for it anymore, there must be a reason for that???

No, it is still payed for as ever. Where did you read this? The average duration of a stay did just get a bit shorter during the last years because of the financial problems health insurances now have (due to the higher unemployment rate in Germany).

--

Since I have mentioned the correcting effects of different braces above. Though the RSC brace doesn't correct half as well as the best braces in Germany, with 30-40% correction it still corrects far better than the average German brace which only achieves 12% (!!!). This is the reason why the efficacy of bracing is questioned in so many studies. They are all based on braces which hardly correct at all!