Scoliosis is the abnormal curvature of the spine greater than 10 degrees, as measured on an X-ray. Anything less than 10 degrees is considered normal variation in a normal individual. The curvature takes place in three dimensions. Normally, the spine is straight when looking at a person from the front or back. When looking at a person from the side, the spine is curved. There is a gentle bending forward of the spine in the chest and a bending backward, called lordosis, between the chest and the pelvis.
In scoliosis, the spine appears S-shaped when looking at the front or back. When looking at the side, the normally curved spine typically straightens out. In addition, the spine twists on its axis, pushing the ribs and flanks backward and forward to produce a prominence, or hump.
Signs Of Scoliosis
Adults with scoliosis may experience the same symptoms as children with the disorder. In particular, a rib prominence (a humpback) may be apparent in adult scoliosis. You may notice your shirts don't fit quite right or that one of your pant legs is longer than the other.
Where adult scoliosis tends to differ from pediatric cases is regarding pain. Adult cases of scoliosis often have a degenerative element—that means the degeneration of spinal discs and joints from years of wear and tear can cause the spine to curve abnormally.
Adult scoliosis can cause pronounced pain, especially if you have scoliosis in your lumbar spine. Low back pain and stiffness are two of the most common symptoms of adult scoliosis.
Adults may also experience pinched nerves as a result of scoliosis, causing neurological symptoms like numbness and shooting pain down the legs. Many adults with scoliosis also report muscle fatigue in their back and legs.
Scoliosis symptoms, while subtle at first, can wreak havoc on your quality of life. For a child, learning you have scoliosis can be a scary experience and may damage self-esteem. For adults, the pain caused by scoliosis can make it hard to engage in daily activities you once enjoyed.
Exercise
Exercise has numerous health-and-wellness benefits in multiple areas of life. When it comes to scoliosis management, exercise plays a vital role. Bodies that experience regular motion are more adaptable and flexible and are better able to handle the rigors of the condition.
Bodies that are more flexible don’t experience the stiffness and related pain and discomfort that people with mobility issues experience. In general, patients who embrace exercise have better musculoskeletal systems and stronger muscles.
Another common misconception about scoliosis is that the condition leads to immobility. While there can be some physical-activity restrictions that accompany a spinal deformity like scoliosis, exercise can actually help counteract the effects of the condition, not to mention the proven mental-health benefits of regular exercise.
Finding the right balance of physical activities that are safe and beneficial for our patients is part of our approach at the Scoliosis Reduction Center. Low-impact exercises such as swimming, cycling, and yoga can help reduce pain as it improves the body’s overall health and ability to adapt to the spinal curvature.
That being said, I strongly recommend that people work with their doctors to find the ideal balance of a healthy activity level to ensure its safety and efficacy.
Stretches
Anyone who’s spent long periods of time being immobile knows firsthand how stiff the body can get without movement. A stiff body leads to pain and discomfort.
Spinal curvatures cause tightness as muscles on one side of the body tend to tighten in response to the curvature. Done correctly, scoliosis-specific stretches are an extremely safe and effective means of keeping those muscles surrounding the spine as loose as possible.
Once those compensating muscles are stretched and relaxed, that tightness is alleviated, decreasing pain and discomfort.
Chiropractic Treatment
When many patients first face a scoliosis diagnosis, their main concern is how to straighten their spine and relieve related symptoms. Doctors and surgeons that support the traditional treatment path most often recommend spinal-fusion surgery once the condition has progressed to a certain point.
While spinal-fusion can be successful in terms of straightening a crooked spine, it doesn’t necessarily remove pain, and it most certainly doesn’t improve flexibility. Patients who come to me after spinal-fusion surgery are often disappointed with how the surgery has affected their pain, flexibility, and mobility.
These outcomes were one of the inspiration-points that led me to seek out alternative treatment options for my scoliosis patients; I knew there had to be a better option than costly and invasive surgery that often resulted in the need for subsequent surgeries, didn’t always improve pain, and decreased flexibility.
The chiropractic-centered approach is proven to restore function, decreasing tightness and pain as a result. Through chiropractic adjustments, my patients experience the benefits of achieving a reduction that is accomplished through natural means that actually improve the spine’s function, rather than holding it in position with rods and screws.
The body is a remarkable culmination of a number of self-sustaining systems. I remind people not to underestimate the body’s ability to adjust to bodily changes, even one as extreme as a spinal deformity. With some assistance, patients with scoliosis can help improve their body’s ability to handle the curvature by natural means. Strengthening the muscles that support the spine and improving the spine’s function naturally, through scoliosis-specific chiropractic care, yields remarkable results.
