Introduction: Scoliosis is the most common structural deformity of the spine. In some patients, the underlying cause of scoliosis can be determined, but the cause of most scoliosis is unknown. Idiopathic scoliosis refers to patients in whom no clear cause of the disease is found. Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is the most common idiopathic scoliosis and is diagnosed when the Cobb angle on the radiograph is greater than 10⁰. Factors predictive of increase in the pathological curvature of the spine are: maturity (chronological age, menarche, skeletal maturity, Risser sign), size, type and location of curvature. The aim of conservative as well as operative treatment of scoliosis is to prevent the progression of spinal curvature. Stabilisation exercises, which are commonly used in the treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, have proven to be an important part of conservative treatment. Purpose: The aim of this diploma work is to determine the effectiveness of stabilisation exercises in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis based on a review of the literature. Methods: Studies were selected if they met the following inclusion criteria: articles with freely available full text, studies published after 2012, randomised controlled trials, studies evaluating the effectiveness of stabilisation exercises in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Results: Five studies were included in the literature review. Four studies compared the effectiveness of stabilisation exercise with another form of exercise (Scientific Exercises Approach to Scoliosis, basic body awareness therapy, Schroth exercises) and one study compared supervised, guided stabilisation exercise with unsupervised stabilisation exercise performed independently in the home environment. Most studies found statistically significant results within-group differences for measures of trunk rotation with a scoliometer, Cobb angle, pain intensity, quality of life, visual and haptic perception, body position perception, subjective perception of trunk deformity, peripheral muscle strength. However, not all studies showed the same statistically significant differences between the different exercise approaches, so further investigation is needed. Discussion and conclusion: The results of reviewed research suggest that stabilisation exercise has positive effects in reducing the intensity of pain associated with scoliosis, preventing scoliosis progression, reducing asymmetry and spinal deformity, and affects on the quality of life of individuals with scoliosis. Future research should consider the following recommendations: include a larger number of subjects, longer exercise programmes, use uniform measurement tools to evaluate the results and monitor the long-term effects of exercise.
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