exercises for scoliosis

[Catlover]

Please, anyone. I am having a completely horrible time trying to find exercises for scoliosis. I was diagnosed by a chiropractor about a year and a half ago. I quit seeing him due to personal reasons. my regular doctor sent me to PT and I ended up with a TENS unit temporarily. But my pain has returned now and several therapists told me at the time that there are exercises I can do, but they have all failed to instruct me on any. The pain is crippling at times. I just want to know if there are any exercises specific for this. I do not know the degree of the curve but the chiropractor did before and after treatment xrays, which I saw, and it ended up looking almost straight. Since I have not gone back to the chiropractor, I feel the muscles are pulling the spine back to the previous position. Any advice??? Any exercises???

[SandyC]

Catlover,
First I would find out what you are dealing with as far as how much curvature you have. A Chiro CAN NOT DO THAT FOR YOU,NOR CAN HE FIX THE CURVE.

Since you sound like an adult you need to find a doc that deals with adult scoli patients. An ortho that deals with adult scoli patients will be able to steer you in the appropreiate direction. You can also do a search on this web site for differant threads dealing with exercise.

[Cakedec]

Exercise for scoliosis

I am so sorry that you are in so much pain. I know exactly what you mean and how difficult it is to endure. I agree with the previous reply in that you need to get an orthopedic dr. who specializes in adult scoliosis. Regular doctors and orthopedics are not going to be any help. I know because I am 46 and have been offered nothing by them since I was 30 except exercises and Physical Therapy. Had to INSIST on a referral to a scoliosis specialist who promptly recommended surgery.

With my curves at 63 and 75 and worsening every year, I have found that sometimes anything that stretches your torso will help. Hang from an overhead bar and let your back stretch, grab the edge of a counter or table and squat down as far as you can keeping your back straight--or lift your self up on it with your arms until you are on tiptoes. If you have an inversion table, hanging upside down a few minutes helps decompress the spine and relieve pain for a while. Use one of the large exercise balls; you can roll your back back and forth on it. Some yoga stretches are good if you do not overdo it. I have a DVD by Elise Browning Miller called Yoga for Scoliosis you can do a search for on the web.

I have found that Swimming and water aerobics classes are excellent for scoliosis as they stretch the back out and do not put pressure on the discs or joints.

If they put you on a PT program and it does not help you, ask about pain shots or medications.

Because of my severe curve, I am using a soft back brace (like a corset) for support of my curves and this stops the pain of them being compressed when I sit for more than a few minutes.

Good luck. When you find something that helps, write and let us know about it!

Deb

[pam b]

exercises for scoliosis

If you live in or near New York City, I know of a medical Dr. that can give exercises and does rolfing. Have you tried rolfing? My daughter is young and her curve progressed anyway but if you are an adult and just want to hold the curve I would think rolfing is great. It really straightens out your posture. Also, gyrotonics is really good.

good luck
Pam

[GHD1959]

Corset

CAKEDEC...What Kind Of Soft Brace Do You Have? Was It A Custom One?

[Cakedec]

To:GHD1959

I got it from my orthopedic doctor for support until the surgery. He said I can use it after surgery as well. The brand is Freeman; it is not custom made. They fitted it in the orthotic department at his hospital. Has boning, hooks in front to close, and stays to tighten on the sides like a corset. Mostly white cotton material so can be washed.

Before I this, I found something at Sears that I used, like a waist cinch made of elasticized material with boning strips and hooks in front. I still use it because it is more comfortable to wear for long periods of time than the corset and still supportive.

Just curious, is 1959 your year of birth? Because it is mine. You can send me a private message through the forum. Just go to my profile.

Deb

[javaboy]

Hi Catlover,
Really, any sort of PT for scoliosis should have an aim of strengthening your core (in other words, the main muscles the body normally uses to hold itself up - pelvic floor, spinal muscles etc.). There are a few different ways to do this, a couple of which have been mentioned above already.
I personally use Pilates, which has been working.
Though be warned that this is a slow process. I often wish that I could just snap my fingers, and the muscles I need to strengthen would be able to support me properly for the day just like that. Unfortunately, it's a lot of hard work to strengthen muscles that you're not used to using, let alone trying to rely on them to support you for the full day.
Still, it's a lot more likely to work than anything a chiropractor could do.
I'm surprised that your therapists couldn't recommend you a set of exercises - I'd be thinking that it would be worth your while shopping around the physiotherapists until you find one that can. I've just been fortunate to have found one that really knows her stuff!

Hope that helps!
Martin Hughes

[cyprusmom]

I just wanted to add that I received a great book from Amazon.com today called Back care basics by Mary Pullig Schatz, M.D. that has a great chapter on scoliosis exercises. I highly recommend it. It is based on gentle yoga exercises.

[mary ann]

scoliosis exercise

"iscoliosis.com/video" has a good yoga for scoliosis video based on good stretching techniques which has helped me.

[flowerpower]

"Yoga for Scoliosis", by Elise Browing Miller is an excellent dvd/book. It shows various exercises in sets, each geared toward different types of curves. I purchased mine through the NSF store, which you can find on the "first page" of this website.

Renee