Stretching before surgery: could simple exercises improve scoliosis outcomes?
NCT ID NCT07516574
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether doing special flexibility exercises for 6 months before spinal fusion surgery helps teens with scoliosis. Researchers want to see if it leads to fusing fewer vertebrae, better curve correction, shorter surgery, and less time in the hospital. Forty teens aged 10-18 with curves over 40 degrees are taking part.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- pre-operative scoliosis-specific exercise program
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could show that doing special exercises before surgery helps teens recover better, need fewer vertebrae fused, and spend less time in the hospital.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage trial with only 40 participants. The exercises may not make a meaningful difference in surgery outcomes, and results may not apply to all teens with scoliosis.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
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 40 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Nov 2025
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2028
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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10 to 18 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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.
Inclusion Criteria: * diagnosis of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis * aged 10 to 18 * curve angle \>40 degrees * waitlisted for posterior spinal fusion surgery at the Stollery Hospital Exclusion Criteria: * previous surgeries * current use of scoliosis-specific exercises
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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.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
The full official record for this study. This one lists no contact details, but it is the first place any would appear.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Clinical Science Building, University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2R8, Canada
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Could adding pilates to schroth exercises boost lung and muscle function in teens with scoliosis?
- Protein clues may predict scoliosis progression in teens