About the Study

The BASIS study has been designed by surgeons, scoliosis patient representatives and researchers, to try and find out which type of back brace is best for treating scoliosis.

Multiple hospitals across the UK are helping us to run the study.

What is the BASIS study?

The BASIS study is the Bracing Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Study. It is a type of study called a ‘randomised controlled trial’.

This means that the type of back brace given to participants in the study is randomly chosen by a computer, to make sure it is fair and the results can be trusted. We are asking lots of young people aged 10 to 15 years old with a diagnosis of scoliosis if they would like to take part.

Why are we doing the BASIS study?

In the UK, we use a full-time brace to treat scoliosis, which must be worn for at least 20 hours a day to work.

Other countries in the world use a different type of brace, which is worn only at night. We are doing the BASIS study to try and find out whether a night-time brace is as effective as the full-time brace we currently use.

Why is the BASIS study important?

Lots of families tell us that they would prefer a night-time brace to a full-time brace.

The BASIS study will give us information about whether a night-time brace is effective and will help us decide whether we can offer it routinely to children and young adults with scoliosis in the UK.

Take part...

Before you decide if you would like to take part, it is important that both you and your parents understand what is involved. Please follow the links below for more information:

Information for Parents / Guardians

Information for Young People

Study team

Mr Ashley Cole

Chief Investigator
Consultant Spinal Surgeon

Ashley is the lead consultant running the BASIS study, and is a Consultant Spinal Surgeon based in Sheffield.

Katie Ridsdale

Study Manager

Katie is based at the Sheffield Clinical Trials Research Unit and has experience assisting and managing clinical trials across numerous areas of healthcare.

Holly Haynes

Research Assistant

Holly is based at the University of Sheffield Clinical Trials Research Unit and has assisted with a broad range of both medical and psychological research.

The BASIS 2 study

Where the BASIS study aims to find out which type of back brace is best for treating children and young people with scoliosis, BASIS 2 is looking at what happens at the end of brace treatment.

Overview

In the past, it was thought that when young people stop growing, the spine curve will not get any worse. However, we now know that in some patients, the curve does get bigger in the few months after the brace is removed.

BASIS2 is trying to find out whether wearing the brace for six months after you stop growing can reduce the chances of the curve getting bigger, compared to stopping the brace at the end of growth.

We are inviting young people who have been part of BASIS, and whose brace has stopped their spine curve reaching the point where surgery might be required, to take part in BASIS 2. This is completely voluntary, and you can continue in BASIS, even if you decide not to take part in BASIS 2. Please have a look at the information on this page, and think about whether you would like to take part.

Take Part…

Before you decide if you would like to take part, it is important that both you and your parents understand what is involved. Please follow the link below for more information:

BASIS 2 Participant Information