How do Paraspinal Muscles Contract during the Schroth Exercise Treatment in Patients with Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS)?

The Schroth exercise can train the paraspinal muscles of patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), however, muscle performance during the training remains unknown. This study applied surface electromyography (sEMG) to investigate the paraspinal muscle activities before, during and after Schroth exercise in nine AIS patients. This study found that after the Schroth exercise, the paraspinal muscle symmetry index (PMSI) was significantly reduced (PMSI = 1.3), while symmetry exercise significantly lowered the PMSI (PMSI = 0.93 and 0.75), and asymmetric exercise significantly increased the PMSI (PMSI = 2.56 and 1.52) compared to relax standing (PMSI = 1.36) in participants (p < 0.05). Among the four exercises, the PMSI of on all fours (exercise 1) and kneeling on one side (exercise 3) was the most and the least close to 1, respectively. The highest root mean square (RMS) of sEMG at the concave and convex side was observed in squatting on the bar (exercise 2) and sitting with side bending (exercise 4), respectively. This study observed that the asymmetric and symmetric exercise induced more sEMG activity on the convex and concave side, respectively, and weight bearing exercise activated more paraspinal muscle contractions on both sides of the scoliotic curve in the included AIS patients. A larger patient sample size needs to be investigated in the future to validate the current observations.