Effects of 12-week core stabilization exercise on the Cobb angle and lumbar muscle strength of adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis

To identify the effects of core stabilization exercise on the Cobb angle and lumbar muscle strength of adolescent patients with idiopathic sco-liosis. Subjects in the present study consisted of primary school stu-dents who were confirmed to have scoliosis on radiologic examination performed during their visit to the National Fitness Center in Seoul, Ko-rea. Depending on whether they participated in a 12-week core stabili-zation exercise program, subjects were divided into the exercise (n=14, age 12.71±0.72 years) or control (n=15, age 12.80±0.86 years) group. The exercise group participated in three sessions of core stabilization exercise per week for 12 weeks. The Cobb angle, flexibility, and lumbar muscle strength tests were performed before and after core stabiliza-tion exercise. Repeated-measure two-way analysis of variance was performed to compare the treatment effects between the exercise and control groups. There was no significant difference in thoracic Cobb angle between the groups. The exercise group had a significant de-crease in the lumbar Cobb angle after exercise compared to before ex-ercise (P