Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is becoming increasingly common in clinical settings, imposing a heavy burden on the family and society. At present, few treatments are available with fair effects for AIS, and there is a lack of unified and effective treatment schemes for AIS.

To explore the effect of Schroth therapy with bonesetting massage in AIS.

Forty adolescent AIS patients treated in Wenzhou Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine from September 2018 to December 2020 were selected, and equally randomly divided into treatment group and control group, 20 cases in each group. Both groups received bone setting massage once a week, and the treatment group additionally received Schroth therapy, 90 minutes per time, 3 times per week. The treatment for both groups lasted for 6 months. Pre- and post-treatment Cobb angle and angle of trunk rotation (ATR) as well as clinical efficacy were compared between the two groups.

The Cobb angle after treatment was smaller than that before treatment in both groups (P<0.05). And the treatment group had a smaller post-treatment Cobb angle than the control group (P<0.05). ATR decreased after treatment in both groups (P<0.05), and it decreased more obviously in the treatment group (P<0.05). The response rate for either control group or treatment group was 95.0% (19/20) but the marked response rate was higher in the treatment group〔85.0% (17/20) vs. 30.0% (6/20) 〕 (P<0.001) .

Compared with bonesetting massage alone, Schroth therapy with bonesetting massage had better effect on improving the Cobb angle and ATR in AIS patients, so the combination therapy is recommended for clinical use.