Adolescent Idiopathic ScoliosisNCT07194564
Immediate Effects of Self-Corrective Training in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: A Nested Study
A study testing Fixed-Sequence Exercise and Self-Corrective Posture Training in people with Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis, run by The University of Hong Kong at 1 site in Hong Kong.
Trial summary
This nested study was conducted within a broader adolescent idiopathic scoliosis research protocol approved under IRB UW24-747. It evaluated immediate within-session changes in bilateral muscle-activation asymmetry and posterior trunk-marker alignment after one session of therapist-guided, individualized… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 11 to 19 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis
- What is being tested?
- Fixed-Sequence Exercise and Self-Corrective Posture Training
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 36 participants
- Where
- 1 siteHong Kong
- Study dates
- 13 Feb 2025to 3 Aug 2025
- Phase
- Interventional
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 11 to 19 years
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Child, Adult
Who may be able to join
- Aged 11 to 19 years
- Diagnosis of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis
Who cannot join
- Scoliosis of non-idiopathic origin
- Previous spinal surgery
- History of spinal trauma, such as fracture or motor vehicle accident
- Metal implant, such as a pacemaker
- Cognitive, psychiatric, behavioral, or communication difficulty preventing understanding of instructions or completion of required movements
- Skin condition or open wound affecting electrode placement
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
Hong Kong1 site
The Duchess of Kent Children's Hospital at Sandy Bay
Hong Kong
About this study
Official title: Immediate Changes in Muscle Activation Asymmetry and Posterior Marker Deviation After Self-Corrective Training in Adolescents With Idiopathic Scoliosis: A Nested Study
This nested study was conducted within a broader adolescent idiopathic scoliosis research protocol approved under IRB UW24-747. It evaluated immediate within-session changes in bilateral muscle-activation asymmetry and posterior trunk-marker alignment after one session of therapist-guided, individualized self-corrective posture training. All participants completed the same fixed sequence during one visit; there was no randomized or separate parallel control group.
Read the detailed description
This ClinicalTrials.gov record describes a nested study conducted within a broader adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) research protocol approved by the Institutional Review Board of the University of Hong Kong/Hospital Authority Hong Kong West Cluster under approval UW24-747. All procedures and outcomes described in this record were within the scope of that approval. This record covers only the participants, procedures, intervention, and outcomes of this nested study.
This was a fixed-order, within-participant repeated-measures study completed during one visit. Adolescents aged 11 to 19 years with AIS completed four 30-second assessments of relaxed habitual standing (HS1 to HS4). After HS1, participants performed approximately 4 minutes of seated trunk flexion-extension and then completed HS2. After a 30-second recovery and transition period without corrective instruction, they completed HS3. Participants then performed three 1-minute repetitions of an individually prescribed self-corrective posture-training task, separated by 30-second rests, with verbal and manual guidance from a registered physiotherapist trained in the Schroth method. Participants relaxed into habitual standing for HS4 after the training task.
Sixteen-channel surface electromyography and posterior trunk images were recorded during the standing assessments. The primary outcome was a composite asymmetry index averaged across eight bilateral muscle pairs. The main training contrast was the change from immediately before training (HS3) to immediately after training (HS4); earlier fixed-sequence contrasts characterized changes after flexion-extension and recovery. The secondary outcome was maximum lateral marker deviation derived from posterior images and compared between HS3 and HS4. Outcomes were calculated offline and were not used as real-time feedback.
- Conditions
- Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis
- Being tested
- Fixed-Sequence Exercise and Self-Corrective Posture Training
- Keywords
- Self-Corrective Posture Training, Surface Electromyography, Muscle Activation Asymmetry, Posterior Marker Deviation
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Fixed-Sequence Exercise and Self-Corrective Posture TrainingBehavioural
During one visit, all participants completed approximately 4 minutes of seated trunk flexion-extension followed by habitual-standing assessment, a 30-second recovery and transition period followed by another habitual-standing assessment, and then three 1-minute repetitions of individually prescribed self-corrective posture training separated by 30-second rests. A registered physiotherapist experienced in physiotherapeutic scoliosis-specific exercise and trained in the Schroth method prescribed the sagittal- and coronal-plane corrections and provided verbal and manual guidance. A final relaxed habitual-standing assessment was recorded immediately after training.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed-Sequence Training Session | Experimental | All participants completed the same fixed sequence during one visit: baseline habitual standing (HS1), approximately 4 minutes of seated trunk flexion-extension followed by habitual standing (HS2), a 30-second recovery and transition period followed by habitual standing (HS3), and three 1-minute repetitions of individualized therapist-guided self-corrective posture training separated by 30-second rests, followed by habitual standing (HS4). Receives: Behavioral: Fixed-Sequence Exercise and Self-Corrective Posture Training |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Change in Composite Surface Electromyographic Asymmetry Index
Surface electromyographic root mean square amplitudes were obtained from 16 channels representing eight bilateral muscle pairs during each 30-second relaxed habitual-standing assessment. For each bilateral pair, the asymmetry index (ASI) was calculated as |RMSleft - RMSright|/(RMSleft + RMSright), ranging from 0 (equal bilateral activation) to 1 (maximal asymmetry). Composite ASI was the arithmetic mean across all eight pairs. Pre-specified within-participant contrasts were HS2-HS1, HS3-HS2, HS3-HS1, and HS4-HS3; HS4-HS3 was the main immediate training contrast.
Measured: During the single study visit: HS1 at baseline; HS2 immediately after seated flexion-extension; HS3 after a 30-second recovery and transition period; and HS4 immediately after self-corrective posture training.
Secondary outcomes (1)
Change in Maximum Lateral Posterior Marker Deviation
Posterior images were obtained during habitual standing using skin markers from C7 through L4 and a sacral reference. Images were standardized using marker size. Maximum lateral marker deviation (MLD) was the greatest absolute horizontal pixel distance between any spinal marker and a vertical reference through the sacral landmark. MLD was expressed in standardized-image pixels and was intended only for within-participant comparison, not as an absolute anatomical distance. The pre-specified comparison was HS4-HS3.
Measured: During the single study visit: immediately before self-corrective posture training (HS3) and immediately after training (HS4).
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted26 Sep 2025
- Study start13 Feb 2025
- Primary completion3 Aug 2025
- Study completion3 Aug 2025
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Adolescent Idiopathic ScoliosisStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by The University of Hong KongThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Model description
- All participants followed the same fixed sequence during one visit. Repeated habitual-standing assessments were obtained before and after a non-corrective flexion-extension task, a recovery and transition period, and individualized self-corrective posture training. The study did not include randomized assignment, counterbalancing, or a separate parallel control group.
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 36 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- The University of Hong Kong
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Yifan HUANG, The University of Hong Kong
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07194564
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- UW24-747-NESTED-01
- Status last verified
- Oct 2026
- First submitted
- 18 Sep 2025
- Last updated
- 7 Oct 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No