need help on physio...

[harmoniesdj]

my exerpience w/ physio

Hi - I have been doing various physio for the 50+ yrs I first started wearing a brace. Exercise does work & surgery is not always necessary. I have not had surgery to date. Isometric exercises are helpful. I have several exercise bands I keep at work, near my bed & in the car. They are great for travel & can strengthen muscles efficiently. Yoga (25 yrs+ for me) has helped me stay flexible (Dr. Benson - UCD Medical Ctr, Sacramento, CA- always told me that as long as I could stay flexible I would stay out of surgery). Massage (deep muscle tissue) has assisted in releasing the tension held in muscles on one side of the body...those muscles are overcompensating for the weaker mucles on the other side...a good CMT will help to balance the muscles on both sides of the body. Stability Ball training assists with strengthening the core muscles as well as being used for stretching & pilates...get a good instruction book for assistance. Swimming is excellent for stengthen both sides of the body and is non-impact. I didn't have much luck w/ aqua-aerobics - too much impact - I had better luck just swimming laps. Light weights and the hyper-extension unit helped strengthen muscle mass as well as tendons & ligaments. Alexander Technique helped me learn how I was holding my body in positions due to pain, injury, bad posture, etc. that stressed my muscles contributing to pain & additional curvature. Muscle Activation Technique (MAT) therapy for the last 2 yrs helped to awaken muscles that were not used & the exercises reinforces their strength. This therapy also made me aware of my feet and how foot exercises + proper shoes could strengthen my core muscles.

I just had an x-ray friday after 2.5 yrs. From what I can tell (w/o Dr. consulation - that's on Wed) my curves have decreased and balanced (now 41 lower {from 49} w/ rotation to 39 upper{from 41}). I must contribute this mostly to the massage and MAT therapy. I'll give you an update after my Dr. app't.

Another peice of advice I have learned over the years is to be careful when working with physical therapists and/ or physical trainers. They can end up hurting you unintentionally and you must ask what experience they've had with scoliosis patients. You would be surprised at their lack of experience...."I studied it in classes" etc.....and they tend to have a one size fits all mentality. I have learned to be careful with their instructions because they can cause me damage & pain than someone else. Learn to listen to what your body is telling you. And tell them "No" that will hurt me.

Good luck & I'll let you know what happens on Wed.

[ermintham]

that's a lot of info.....

wat kinda isometric exercises u do?

[ermintham]

That is correct. Neither bracing or exercising will correct a curve. What they will do is hopefully stop or slow the progression of the curve (if caught early enough) to avoid surgery. The exercises will help keep the muscles in shape and will help keep your back limber. This is good if you do have surgery as it may help in the amount of correction that can be obtained.

hey slice.....how come i read some other post that some pple do experience their curve getting better?

[Lab Dog]

If scoliosis is caught early enough bracing can be very effective in stopping curve progression. In some cases curve reduction is possible IF the brace is worn properly for the prescribed amount of time. In most of the accounts I have read of curve reduction it involved teens who were diagnosed at Risser 0, curves in the 20's, who exercised to achieve strong core muscles, maintained a healthy to low weight, and wore whatever brace they had just the way it was supposed to be. But this is unusual, which is why brace-wearers are told the goal of the brace is to stop progression. And braces generally do stop progression in 65-85 percent of patients.

[ermintham]

hy lab dog...

my doctor din say that i need to wear a brace...well im meeting him agn in abt two weeks time..see how it goes...
the last visit..he told me to exercise...and stay active..

[gerbo]

my doctor told me to do more exercise...and as i do....i realise the imbalance gets greater..coz i subconsciously twist according to my rotation..so the weaker muscles remain unused and the stronger ones get stronger....how do we counter this

you might be interested in this article, describing torsorotation exercises as a way of stopping scoliosis getting worse

http://corespinalfitness.com/downloa...nscoliosis.pdf

the "beauty" of this exercise is that it appears to target selectively muscles on either side of the spine (depending on which direction you turn) and there is less risk of "strengthening the stronger side" Ofcours you do not expect any improvement once you stopped growing, it might just help stabilising things and at least will keep your backmuscles stronger.

[ermintham]

?

you might be interested in this article, describing torsorotation exercises as a way of stopping scoliosis getting worse

http://corespinalfitness.com/downloa...nscoliosis.pdf

the "beauty" of this exercise is that it appears to target selectively muscles on either side of the spine (depending on which direction you turn) and there is less risk of "strengthening the stronger side" Ofcours you do not expect any improvement once you stopped growing, it might just help stabilising things and at least will keep your backmuscles stronger.

ok thanks thanks...


the "?" was for?


or is it a typo?

[gerbo]

it was a typo

[ermintham]

so wat kinda torsorotation exercises i can do? any links?

that pdf only explains that it works or helps....

[gerbo]

it tells you what type of equipment they used, so you can find the same equipment and use it as described. Failing that, find a "gym" with something similar (here in UK they call them "torsotwist")

ofcourse make sure you are properly advised by physician to make sure you are allowed to do these and properly supervised by instructor

[structural75]

ermintham,

I wouldn't advise messing around with this on your own, or with a personal trainer at the gym. You should be working with someone much more knowledgeable about scoliosis for this... a reputable physiotherapist/PT for example. Every curve/rotation is unique to that individual. Checking with your Dr. is a good idea, but keep in mind it will yield different outcomes depending on how well versed your Doctor is on this type of treatment approach. Some Doctors have a very poor understanding of functional biomechanics... and some don't feel exercise is important in the matter (the Drs in Montreal don't give exercises to do with their brace ).

Basically, I'm just saying a generic approach may do more harm than good. These rotations should be done to ONE side in the PROPER place for corrective purposes. Otherwise.... .