Background: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of the physical rehabilitation exercise program on the vital capacity of 6- to 8-year-old children with scoliosis of degree I and II.

Materials and Methods: In this semi-experimental study, a total of 165 primary school students who had scoliosis of degree I and II were randomly selected and allocated into the experimental and control groups. The experimental group participated in rehabilitation exercises, but the control group did not receive any special training. Rehabilitation exercises consisted of sixteen sessions in 8 weeks, each session lasting 60 minutes and in each session, the children’s vital lung capacity was measured three times.

Results: The results showed that the rate of increase in the vital lung capacity in the experimental group was significantly more than that in the control group (P<0.05). Moreover, the results showed that before and after rehabilitation exercises there was a significant difference in children’s vital capacity in the experimental group among children of three age groups (P<0.05), whereas no significant difference was found in children’s vital capacity in the control group among children of three age groups (P<0.05). The results also showed that there was a significant difference in vital capacity between the experimental and control groups among children of three age groups (P<0.05).

Conclusion: The rehabilitation program used in this study can have a desirable effect on vital capacity in children with scoliosis malformation. Therefore, this program can be recommended for cases with scoliosis of degree I and II.