Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Part 4: Specific Exercises to the Condition

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The course will define PSSE (Physiotherapeutic Scoliosis Specific Exercise) based upon accepted international standards in conservative management of scoliosis. Various schools of PSSE will be reviewed with an emphasis on the Schroth-Barcelona method. Exercise examples will be shown. PSSE will be contrasted to general physical therapy. Precautions for and modifications of general physical therapy and exercises will be given. The course is not intended for the application of PSSE by the clinician (advanced PSSE training is needed), but some simple scoliosis intervention suggestions will be given.

Meet your instructor

Cindy Marti

Cindy Marti began her career at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton in 1986. In 1989 she joined Milwaukee-based Competitive Edge Sports Medicine and became part of the management team in 1991. In 1994, after Competitive Edge became part of NovaCare, Cindy became General Manager of the Wisconsin region. In 1996, Cindy stepped…

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Chapters & learning objectives

1. Physiotherapeautic Scoliosis Specific Exercise (PSSE) – Definition and Description

The accepted terminology for physical therapy for scoliosis is called PSSE. This chapter will describe the accepted components of PSSE according to consensus from scoliosis experts. The chapter will describe multiple examples of how PSSE is differentiated from general physical therapy to give the reader an appreciation for the subspecialty of PSSE.

2. PSSE Methods

There are multiple schools of PSEE around the world. This chapter will give a short description of various schools of PSSE and reference published article reviews on the schools. Emphasis will be placed upon the Schroth Method, which is most widely used in the US at this time. The principles of the Schroth method as taught by Barcelona Scoliosis Physical Therapy School will be reviewed and examples of Schroth exercise positions will be shown. A short video demonstrating Schroth will also be shown.

3. Entry level PT concepts for AIS

Therapists seeing scoliosis patients should ideally be trained specifically in PSSE or refer scoliosis patients to PSSE-trained therapists. However, PSSE is not readily available in all communities and continuing education may not be possible for all therapists. Therefore, this chapter will educate therapists on entry level concepts for treating scoliosis patients when PSSE is not available. The chapter will explain coordination of care guidelines for therapists when encountering scoliosis patients in their clinics. Emphasis will be placed on precautions, modifications and entry level postural corrections in the sagittal plane.

More courses in this series

Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Part 1: Definition & Diagnosis

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Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Part 2: Clinical & Radiological Evaluation

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Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Part 3: Indications, Guidelines & Goals of Treatment

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