The Schroth method is the most recognized, exercise-based approach for the conservative treatment of scoliosis.
What the method is
The Schroth method is a set of specialized physiotherapy exercises for children over 8 years of age with diagnosed scoliosis of up to 40 degrees. The method has a proven effect in improving the abilities and capacity of the body in children and adolescents with curvatures of the spine.
The exercises are based on corrected posture and proper 3D breathing. In addition to the strength of one’s own muscles, Schroth relies on the force of gravity and the force of additional load. The aim of the method is to achieve postural balance and to avoid surgery.
History of the Schroth method
The Schroth method is a non-surgical treatment applied in the correction of scoliosis. Schroth has a very long tradition. Some would say that it is a conservative type of treatment reminiscent of the original method of Hippocrates. Although more than 2,000 years have passed since the era of Hippocrates, the conservative type of scoliotic correction has retained the same approach to the problem. How seriously this problem was approached two centuries ago is shown by the fact that three therapists worked with a single patient in order to prevent mistakes during the correction. Corrective treatment based on the principles of the Schroth method is applied worldwide, precisely because of its approach to the problem, mainly based on three-dimensional breathing, which plays the most important role in the treatment of scoliosis.
The development of the Schroth method is based on the professional work of three generations. The first steps were recorded in 1921 by Katharina Schroth, who herself suffered from scoliosis. Dissatisfaction with the treatment she received in certain institutions led her to seek a solution to her own problem herself. She began to study her body and to apply a new type of treatment. She was a teacher, so she knew nothing about anatomy, physiology, and biomechanics; nevertheless, her inspiring spirit contributed to the development of something entirely new, something that produced incredible results in the following years. She came to the conclusion that it is possible to achieve control of posture only by changing postural perception. She tried to correct the rib cage by taking deep breaths from the concave side. She did this in front of a mirror so that she could control the movements of the rib cage. Her main inspiration was the balloon. While observing the inflation of a balloon, she came to the conclusion that it is possible to correct the deformity by following the same principle. She began to develop the method in Meissen, East Germany, where she founded her first small institute. During the 1930s and 1940s, Katharina received support in the work and development of the method from her daughter Christa, born in 1924. Katharina moved with her daughter Christa to Bad Sobernheim in 1961. This is the town in which they founded their institute, which gradually grew into a well-established clinic, officially opened in 1983 under the name “Katharina Schroth Klinik”. After Katharina’s death in 1985, her daughter Christa Lehnert-Schroth, a therapist, continued the development of the method. Later her son Hans-Rudolf Weiss, an orthopedic surgeon, joined her. Dr. Weiss was the director of the clinic from 1995 to 2008. The further development of the method was entrusted to the heads of the therapy unit, Udo Ruwenich and Axel Hennes, and scientifically validated by Dr. Weiss.
