History of the Schroth method
Katharina Schroth was born February 22, 1894, in Dresden, Germany. She was diagnosed with scoliosis as a teen. The doctors thought it would be best for her to have surgery to correct the curvature of her spine. However, she did not want surgery. She decided that she would figure out how to exercise, work, and live life with her body. She created a program of education for herself and for others in 1920 called the Schroth Method. Christa Lehnert-Schroth, Katharina's daughter, completed physical therapy school and helped her mother further develop her theories and training practices. The family's interests and support grew with Katharina's grandson Han-Rudolf Weiss, MD. Together they opened up an in-patient facility in Bad Sobernheim, Germany.
Here they developed a holistic approach to scoliosis and kyphosis care using bracing, nutrition, general wellness and exercise during a 6-week training program. Volumes of data about the effectiveness of Schroth was collected during these years. The family wrote books and literature about the effects of Schroth. By their leadership, the Schroth Method had its start in the world of non-surgical approaches to scoliosis. After dedicating her life to working with those who have scoliosis Katharina passed away on February 19, 1985, in Bad Sobernheim, Germany.
Elena Salva, a physiotherapist, learned about the Schroth Method in Germany and trained under Katharina and Christa. Elena's son-in-law, Dr. Manuel Rigo followed the ideas of Katharina and Christa to develop a school to teach the world about this method. The school's name is Barcelona Scoliosis Physical Therapy School (BSPTS). Our therapist Amy Sbihli, PT, MPT, DPT trained under Dr. Rigo in the United States, as well as Barcelona, Spain, and is a founding member of this School. She is one of 5 instructors in the USA teaching under the BSPTS school.
Here they developed a holistic approach to scoliosis and kyphosis care using bracing, nutrition, general wellness and exercise during a 6-week training program. Volumes of data about the effectiveness of Schroth was collected during these years. The family wrote books and literature about the effects of Schroth. By their leadership, the Schroth Method had its start in the world of non-surgical approaches to scoliosis. After dedicating her life to working with those who have scoliosis Katharina passed away on February 19, 1985, in Bad Sobernheim, Germany.
Elena Salva, a physiotherapist, learned about the Schroth Method in Germany and trained under Katharina and Christa. Elena's son-in-law, Dr. Manuel Rigo followed the ideas of Katharina and Christa to develop a school to teach the world about this method. The school's name is Barcelona Scoliosis Physical Therapy School (BSPTS). Our therapist Amy Sbihli, PT, MPT, DPT trained under Dr. Rigo in the United States, as well as Barcelona, Spain, and is a founding member of this School. She is one of 5 instructors in the USA teaching under the BSPTS school.