The official birth of the Lyon Method dates from the publication in 1827 of a book by Charles Gabriel Pravaz: "New method for the treatment of deviations of the spine". Charles Gabriel Pravaz was not only a doctor, but also an engineer, a pupil of the Ecole Polytechnique de Paris. He is the inventor of the syringe, but above all he is the first to combine exercises and orthopedic devices to reduce vertebral deviations.
In Lyon, he founded the "Bellevue Orthopedic and Pneumatic Institute" where his methods are applied. The majority of the principles of physiotherapy were already used at that time: active axial elongation by climbing rope and spiral ladders, nocturnal vertebral traction, correction devices in the frontal plane. A large swimming pool illustrates the coupling of physical activity with mechanical means of correction.
One of the engravings in the book provides a better understanding of the characteristics of the Lyon Method. The patient is placed in the scoliosis correction position very close to the current Schroth posture. The feet are on a rocking platform called “orthopedic swing” and illustrates the reprogramming of the sensors of the extra-pyramidal postural system in corrected position which is at the basis of the Lyon Method...

10 good reasons to choose the Lyon Method
1. The Lyon Method is the oldest conservative treatment for scoliosis. You benefit from 200 years of experience in the field of physical therapy and braces.
2. The Lyon Method is the first to have established a computerized prospective database "kinesis" in 1998 which allows to present real results on all patients without any selection bias.
3. The Lyon Method was the first since 1986 to create braces using the modern CAD/CAM technique, which ensures better correction.
4. Since 1982, the Lyon Method has been the first to integrate the sagittal plane with the frontal correction and, thanks to EOS imaging, the isostatic balance in the sagittal plane according to the pelvic incidence.
5. Brace correction is performed directly on the patient and not based on the radiograph. In orthopedics, we treat a patient, not an x-ray. The correction is the same for physical therapy and brace.
6. The Lyon Method is the only one to present very long-term results (20-30 years) with a significant slowing of the natural history of scoliosis in adulthood.
7. Scoliosis is a 3D deviation of the spine, but the Lyon Method is the only one that explains how to correct the spine from the external surface of the trunk with the hyperboloid as a model.
8. Scoliosis is a disease of posture. The Lyon Method physical therapy is the only one based on the stimulation of the postural system.
9. The Lyon Method training is the only one that is available on-line and allows all physiotherapists and ortho-prosthetists to be easily certified.
10. The new Lyon ARTbrace is the only one to treat instability in adult scoliosis and is a real alternative to surgery.