OBJECTIVE: At present, there are a variety of treatment methods for scoliosis using specific exercise therapy, but there is a lack of comparison of efficacy between different specific exercise therapy. This article compared the effectiveness of different specific exercise therapies to treat adolescent idiopathic scoliosis through a network meta-analysis. METHODS: Domestic and foreign electronic databases of relevant studies were searched for randomized controlled trials of specific exercise therapy for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Search time was from January 2000 to July 2023. The literature was screened by two reviewers using RevMan 5.4 and Stata 16.0 software to extract data and assess the bias risk of of inclusion studies. RESULTS: (1) This article includes 20 randomized controlled trials with 1 377 patients. Of them, 12 studies involved Schroth therapy; 2 studies involved BSPTS therapy, and 6 studies involved SEAS therapy. (2) The network meta-analysis indicated that in terms of improving Cobb angle and reducing trunk rotation angle in scoliosis patients, the BSPTS therapy group and Schroth therapy group were better than the conventional control group (WMD -4.60, 95%CI (-8.37 to -0.82), p < 0.05; WMD -3.37, 95%CI(-4.98 to -1.75), p < 0.05; WMD -3.20, 95%CI (-5.50 to -0.90), p < 0.05; WMD -2.13, 95%CI (-3.16 to -1.09), p < 0.05). The Schroth therapy group performed better than the conventional control group effective in improving the International Society for Scoliosis Research-22 Questionnaire quality of life score (WMD 1.41, 95%CI (0.07 to 2.75), p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Given the current evidence, BSPTS therapy group and Schroth therapy group were better than the conventional control group in improving Cobb angle and reducing trunk rotation angle. In the comparison of different specific exercise therapies, BSPTS therapy can be preferred to improve Cobb angle and reduce trunk rotation angle in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients. In addition, Schroth therapy may be the best treatment to improve the quality of life of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients. Limited by the quantity and quality of the included studies, the above conclusions should be interpreted with caution and need more high-quality studies to further validation.

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