Can simple yoga poses straighten curved spines in children?
NCT ID NCT07818148
First seen Sep 14, 2026 · Last updated Sep 15, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
Researchers are testing whether a short daily routine of one or two yoga poses can reduce spinal curvature in children aged 8 to 12 with juvenile idiopathic lumbar scoliosis. Participants practice the poses for 5 to 7 minutes, three times a day, for four months. Some children start with a sham pose routine and later switch to the active poses. The study measures changes in Cobb angle, the standard X-ray measure of scoliosis, over 4 to 8 months.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- therapeutic yoga poses
- What this could lead to
- If the poses help, yoga could become a low-cost, at-home way to keep mild childhood scoliosis from worsening. It might spare some children from braces or surgery.
- What could go wrong
- The study is small, with 28 children, and scoliosis curves often change on their own during growth. Yoga may not alter the curve, and daily practice can be hard to keep up.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 28 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Sep 2026
- Expected to finish
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Nov 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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8 to 12 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusionary Criteria: 1. 8-12 years of age. 2. Lumbar or thoracolumbar idiopathic scoliotic curve equal to or greater than 10 degrees, less than or equal to 45 degrees. 3. Stated willingness to do the yoga or yoga-like poses three times daily. 4. Verbal consent, validated assent by patient and written consent of parent/guardian. 5. Pre-test Cobb films 1) within 3 months prior to teaching, or within 72 hours afterwards." . Exclusionary criteria: 1. Neurological, muscular or neuromuscular disease, (e.g.s., cerebral palsy, myopathy, osteogenesis imperfecta). 2. Genetic abnormalities that affect limb growth, proportionality or metabolism, (e.gs., mucopolysaccharidoses, Marfan's syndrome, Refsums phenylketonuria). 3. Previous spinal surgery or other conditions prohibiting X-rays or minute(s)-long exertion (e.gs., congestive heart failure, great weakness, severe COPD). 4. Previous exposure to botulinum neurotoxin Type A.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Manhattan Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
New York, New York, 10022, United States
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