Brace treatment of idiopathic scoliosis.

Fifty-one curves of fourty-three patients were studied. They met the following criteria; (1) Female adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, (2) Starting the brace treatment before complete fusion of the iliac apophysis, (3) a minimum follow-up period of one year after completion of brace treatment. Only one curve showed an increase exceeding 5 degrees. Other fifty curves were unchanged or achieved correction of more than five degrees. The iliac apophysis maturation, the age and the magnitude of the curve when the patients start brace treatment and the kind of the brace were not significantly correlated with the result. The brace treatment appears effective for arresting the progress of the idiopathic scoliosis.