...c o n t i n u e d fro m p a g e 2 2 after a stu d y o f 425 cases o f end-result idiopathic scoliosis, that exercise shou ld be avoided. T his stud y found that approxim ately 60% o f the p atients treated w ith exercises had an increase in the deform ity, and 40% had no change. R ecent w ork d one b y Stone et al (1979), has included a nine- m onth exercise therapy p ro gram m e for 99 subjects w ith scoliosis and also reported p o o r results. H ow ever, the results o f this study show ed the extent to w hich, un der the optim al cond itions ou t­ lined, therapeutic exercises w ere capable o f correcting functional scoliosis and a sig nificant change in both body position and spinal fu nctionality w as show n after 20 w eeks o f treatm ent. The data revealed p ost-treatm ent valu es that suggested that som e positive changes had taken place due to the therapeutic program m e. It appears that in cases o f lateral sym m etries, you ng child ren have high potential for b alancing the trunk m uscles if the exercise intensity is w ell regulated and m onitored. This should encourage clinicians to consid er using exercise therapy as an im portant treatm ent for fu nctional scoliosis. E xtrem e care w as taken in the present study to control testing proced u res and the cond u ct o f the treatm ent program m e itself. It is adm issible, w h ere oth er ou tcom es are the focus, to be less rigorous w ith respect to the treatm ent itself. Thu s Stone et al (1979), had subjects p erfo rm an active exercise program m e at hom e w ith no superv ision, as op posed to the individual attention given to each su b ject in the present study. H ow ever, it is the au th or's op in ion that w ithout individual supervision, no valid inform ation on the effect o f exercise program m es on functional scoliosis can be achieved. T h e i n f o r m a t i o n p r e s e n t e d h e r e is a n a t t e m p t to s h o w th e r e s p o n s e s o f th e f u n c t i o n a l s c o l io t i c s p i n e to a n in d iv id u a l i s e d a n d c l o s e ly s u p e r v i s e d e x e r c i s e p r o g r a m m e . T h i s k n o w le d g e m a y p r o v i d e a u s e f u l b a s i s f o r b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g a n d m a n a g e m e n t o f f u n c t i o n a l s c o l io s i s , a n d m ig h t s h e d a d d i t i o n a l l ig h t o n th e e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f e x e r c i s e t h e r a p y in th e t r e a t m e n t o f t h is p r o b l e m . REFERENCES 1. A lter M J. S cience o f stretching. F irst Editio n, Illinois: C am p aig n ; 1988:17- 2 1 . 2. C ailliet R. Scoliosis. F irst Editio n, P h iladelp h ia. F A D avie; 1975:12-43. 3. C obb J R. Scoliosis, jou rn al o f B one a n d jo in t Surgery 1958;40(A ):510-512. 4. Jand a V. O n the co ncep t o f p o stu ral m u scles and p o stu re in man. A u stralian jou rn al o f P hysiotherapy 1 9 8 3 ;2 9 (l):8 3 -8 5 . 5. K eim H R. T he adolescent spine. F irst E dition, N ew Y ork: Sp ring er-V er- lag;1983:25-62. 6. K isner C , C olby L A. T herapeu tic exercise. Secon d E d itio n , P hiladelphia: D avis F A ;1 985:509-542. 7. L oncar D M , Pecina M , P reb erg Z. A lo n gitud inal stu d y o f grow th velocity and d ev elo p m ent o f second ary g e n d e r ch aracteristics versus on set o f idiop athic sco liosis. C linical O rthopaedics 1991 ;2 7 0 (l):2 7 8 -2 8 2 . 8. N u delm an W , R eis N D. A natom y o f the extrin sic spin al m u scles related to the deform ity o f scoliosis. A cta A n atom ica 1990;139(3):220-225. 9. R o a f R . P a r a l y t i c S c o l i o s i s . J o u r n a l o f B o n e a n d J o in t S u r g e r y 1956;38(b):640-659. 10. Sto n e B, B eekm an C , H all V et al. T he effect o f an exercise pro gram on ch ange in cu rve in ad olescen ts w ith m in im al idio p ath ic scolio sis. P hysi­ cal T herapy 1979;59(6):759-763. 1 1 . T a r r I. A n a ly s is o f n o r m a l a n d s c o l io t i c s p in e . P hysiotherapy 1948;28(1):6-10. 12. T ay lo r J R. Scoliosis and grow th. P attern s o f a sy m m etry in norm al vertebral grow th. A cta O rthopaedica S can din avica 1 9 8 3 ;5 4 (l):5 9 6 -6 0 2 . 13. T ho m p son C W . M an u al o f structu ral kin esiology. E lev en th Edition. Boston ; T im es M irro r,1989:51-83. THE SA JOURNAL OF PHYSIOTHERAPY IN THE INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT ■ by Lo-an Roux, Physiotherapy Publications In his last ed itorial after ed iting the New Zealand Journal o f Physiotherapy for n ine years, Bryan P aynter com m ents that on the occasion he "le ft ou t the editorial to see if anyone w ould notice, nobody said a w o rd ''. H e also com m ents that he is not certain that his w ish that the Jo u rn al w ould be a vehicle o f professional com m unication w as fu lfilled to the extent he desired. And yet the index o f articles in the D ecem ber issue o f the New Zealand Journal o f Physiotherapy looks interesting enough: • Study raises concern about concussion in rugby league gam es • N eural involvem ent in shou ld er pain • H ypertrophy and hyperplasia in skeletal m uscle follow ing end urance training • The effects o f ultrasound o n tum our grow th and m etastasis • Physiotherapists rated positively by parents • O verw eight nurses su ffer m ore back pain • C linical notes • W orking in the U SA - a K iw i perspective • N ew directions for p hysiotherap y research. K athy H end erson is the Scientific Editor o f the Australian Journal o f Physiotherapy, and in her D ecem ber editorial "C areful m an u scrip t p rep aration m axim ises publication p o ten tial" she com m ents that "th e m ajority o f m anuscripts are returned to the author(s) for rev isio n " and that "a num ber o f m anu scrip ts require revision on m ore than one occasion p rior to acceptance for p u bli­ cation ". A n d y e t the in d e x o f a r tic le s in d ic a te s th a t A u s tra lia n physiotherapists are w riting scientifically acceptab le articles: • Effect o f trunk flexion speed on flexion relaxation o f erector spinae • Effect of age, gender and speed o n three d im ensional lum bar spine kinem atics • G roup exercises for subjects w ith osteoarthritis o f the knee • Post stroke recovery o f balanced sittin g a n d am b ulation ability • D oes laser enhance bru ising in acute sporting injuries: • Physiotherapy m anagem ent o f obstructed defaecation • H ow to w rite a p aper for a scientific jo u rn al. T he South African Journal o f P hysiotherapy has the sam e mission, m ethods and requ irem ents as p hysiotherap y jo u rn als the world over. Even though it serves a relatively sm all local com m unity of physiotherapists, it is also our professional show case to the world. W e know that South African p hysiotherap ists are highly re­ spected for the quality o f papers presented at national and inter­ national congresses. The Journal is ou r vehicle for m aintaining that respect betw een congresses. The difficulties experienced by p hysiotherap ists in w riting for publication are universal. The difficulties experienced by journal editors in finding and shaping articles suitable for p u blication are universal. The "G u id elines for A u th o rs", published by every jo urnal in the w orld, invites and w elcom es contrib u tio ns. Y our Journal is no exception! B la d s y 2 4 F e b r u a r ie 1996 SA T y d s k rif F is io te r a p ie , D e e 1 5 2 N o 1 R ep ro du ce d by S ab in et G at ew ay u nd er li ce nc e gr an te d by th e P ub lis he r (d at ed 2 01 3. )