• Harden J
• Jaszewski E
• Galgano J

• Adolescent
• Child
• Female
• Male
• Manipulation, Spinal
• Pierce-Stillwagon Technique
• Scoliosis
• Subluxation / diagnosis

Objective: The purpose of this study is to add to the lack of follow-up research on chiropractic-managed scoliosis by reinvestigating a previous case series on AIS patients under the Pierce Results System™.

Methods: This study was reviewed and approved by the institutional review board of the Foundation for Vertebral Subluxation. All original 36 subjects were restudied. The subject was included in this study if they were currently under care and had an additional ‘post’ AP lumbopelvic X-ray. Twenty subjects (10 in the scoliosis group and 10 in the sub-scoliosis group) met criteria and their latest film was measured using the Cobb-Lippman method.

Results: As in the previous study, these patients had continued care under the Pierce Results SystemTM, which only focused on correcting vertebral subluxation. For the 20 included subjects, the mean curve size decreased an additional 12.9% since initial care was given. The total correction was 46.8%, which was statistically significant (p<0.05). In the scoliosis group, there was a 14.4% decrease initially, followed by an additional 7.6% reduction. Final results totaled to 31.5% correction in scoliosis size since beginning chiropractic care. The sub-scoliosis group initially had a 61.5% decrease, followed by an additional 18.2% reduction. The final results totaled to a 62.1% correction in curve size.

Conclusions: These results suggest that: 1) the Pierce Results SystemTM may provide a way to reduce scoliotic curvatures by removing vertebral subluxation without the aid of other interventions; 2) specific adjusting of vertebral subluxations could help decrease scoliotic curves with minimal risk of curve regression. However, more follow-up research is needed on chiropractic management of scoliosis.

Author keywords: Pierce Results System, Adolescent, Scoliosis, Chiropractic, Subluxation, Adjustment, Manipulation

This abstract is reproduced with the permission of the publisher; full text is available by subscription.