Have any adults tried Schroth Therapy?

[Patricia]

[QUOTE=flerc;120728]Patricia, maybe I not understand correctly what you are saying.
Do you gained 1/2 inch in height when you are standing in a natural way? If it's true, then you should have reduced degrees.

Yes, I was measured at my doctor's office and I stand in my corrections, which must be the posture that I try to maintain at all times. (Think of an army officer - and his or her posture. A drill sargent would be helpful to keep me in shape. I also keep a mental picture of the Buckingham palace guards who stand at attention 8 hrs/day.)

But this spring I came down with a virus that kept me mainly in bed for a week and then just laying around for a month (no exercising) I lost 10 lbs. But it was getting late to put in my garden and I unwisely did that instead of my schroth exercises. I have developed a very deblitating sharp pain low on the right side of my spine, something i never had before.

But i have resumed my exercises and hope to regain some of my former strength. But that is the problem with a treatment based on an exercise program -self discipline. I thought I had the discipline to keep it up. Time will tell. But after talking to someone who had surgery at my age (also with a major curve) I think i will still put my money on an exercise program. (The surgeon at Emory clinic thought that I would need front and back incisiions.)

i just wish there was a Schroth practitioner in the Atlanta area so I could continue the exercises under supervision.

Patricia

[flerc]

Patricia I think that if you’ll take another X-ray, you should to stay stand up in the same posture as you was with the last X-Ray if you want to know if you really had a an actual reduction of degrees.. Surely when you remains in that straight posture your curve is reduced if you gain height (some curve must to be reduced). But a real reduction only could be measured in a normal posture, without stretching the spine. But it don’t means that even if you had not a real reduction, Schroth is not working with you. If your curve is not increasing and you have not worring complications.. it seems to works!

Of course is difficult to know what could happen in the future. An exercise program -self discipline of course is not what someone wants to follow all your life, but.. maybe those exercises not only reduce the injuries of your scoliosis but also improve other issues of your health. When I was to talk with a Qui Gong master, I saw so many people in the class, with different problems because not doing anything for many years.

Anyway I think that non surgical methods, are like martial arts. Many people want to be invincibles with only a short practice. Of course is impossible, and surely never would be invincibles even a practice of 14 hours per day, as surely nobody could find a cure to her scoliosis. And also, as from some people boxing is better than wrestling, or tae-kwondo for others instead of jiu-jitsu, surely some non-surgical method would the best for someone, and other different would be for others.
And surely the best for all is the rational combination of this methods, as the best martial art is the mixed martial arts.

I hope the best for you

[whatishappening]

I wanted to report back on my experience. I've learned a lot, but it is yet to be seen how much of it I am able to integrate into my daily life. It provided me with a lot of practical solutions for things that I can do do to improve my days in general and exercises to stretch and strengthen in ways specific to my curve. In my opinion everyone with scolioisis, fused and unfused, could benefit from Schroth. But I am not implying in any way that it is a miracle cure. It's like saying that everyone can benefit from daily exercise. I would say that as an adult, if you are in pain but not progressing, then it would be worth exploring first.

A lot happened in those 4 days so please feel free to ask questions.

Hi Mehere, I am seriously considering taking Schroth course. Can I ask you- do they xray you there or do you need to bring your own xrays?

[livingtwisted]

Hi Mehere, I am seriously considering taking Schroth course. Can I ask you- do they xray you there or do you need to bring your own xrays?

I brought my x-rays. I think this is pretty common with Schroth, but I imagine it depends on the facility/practitioner. Where were you thinking of going?

[whatishappening]

Hi Mehere, thanx for responding.

Well there is a chiropractic place outside of Toronto that I have found:
http://www.leasidechiro.com/

Also someone in California:
http://www.scoliosispt.net/

also the clinic in Arizona:
http://www.scoliosisrehab.com/

I have friends in Toronto I can stay with. Right now it is all about money. I am guessing $60/hr minimum (?) so $1200 plus travel and accomodation. That's why I wish there was someone here in Vancouver or Seattle. My issue is mostly rotational but I think it is very bad and getting worse and I have been getting painful radiulopathy that is also feeding into the rotation and long story but I really need to at least stop this from getting worse. So because it is not huge I am hoping I won't need as many hours. I have already figured out some exercises on my own but I get really scared playing with my own body and the physiotherapists I have seen won't touch it- one told me that with scolioiss you are just dragged along a never-ending path of adjustments and it is best just to leave it alone (!!!). The others- well 2 say just focus on muscle balance but that is trickier than they think, and one or 2 said basically all they can do is treat the pain. I SO do not believe that. If I could just find someone who has it themselves- these PT's really just don't seem to understand.

I believe in the Scroth because I accidentally came up with a couple of those exercises on my own without knowing they are Scroth (such as when a little boy in some old video footage places facecloths under his butt, chest and shoulder while laying flat- I have been doing that and have wondered and wondered if I should be doing that when I do all the core exercises the PT gives me- I asked and she said no...)

I guess I will phone some of these placees to find out exactly what type of xrays they need. What kind did you bring?

If anyone has heard of that first place I mentioned- the one in Toronto, I would appreciate hearing about it- you can PM me if you like.


thanx

[livingtwisted]

I guess I will phone some of these placees to find out exactly what type of xrays they need. What kind did you bring?

I just brought my latest x-rays from the orthopedist. Just one of the thoracic, and one of the lumbar -- not a whole series or anything. Actually, I think I had emailed them in advance to discuss my situation even before I decided to go. I saw Beatriz, who is the Northern California one you listed. I've also heard good things about the clinic in AZ. Good luck!

[whatishappening]

Thank You Mehera! I am so glad you saw Beatrix- I was seriously considering her because of the location but I have no idea who's who so I feel very reassured now

Again, if anyone knows anything about the Toronto clinic I mentioned I would love to hear about it.

I guess my current xrays are ok then. I was thinking- maybe I should have derotated before having them done. But anyway, I will ask the clinics about that.

Thank you very much again. Mehera, I really appreciate it and Good luck to you too

[gail govan]

I just started scroth therapy

Hi! This is my first post. I have congenital scolioisis, an S curve with a 60 degree lumbar curve. I'm 57 and had no problems till about 5 1/2 years ago. Problems began with sciatica that I could alleviate with yoga and swimming, but now it has gotten worse and the sciatica has turned into peroneal neuropathy and I have a lot of problems with my lower extremities, not directly with my back, because of L5/S1 impingement. I was thinking of seeing a Schroth therapist in NY and know this is designed for younger people, but talked to one person over 50 who found some success. Has anyone else tried this? Or I'm open to other ideas directed towards nerve impingement, other than yoga for scoliosis, which used to work for me, but now just made me worse. Thanks.

Hi lisazena, I have had this week my first schroth therapy appointment. I am 67 years old, and did not know I had scoliosis until after quite a few years of the MD's never figuring out why I was so crippled with pain and not taking the appropriate x-ray of a weight-bearing spine picture. But a chiropractor quickly made the diagnosis. You could have knocked me over with a feather. By that time I could no longer practice my profession (I am a dentist) and I was very impaired by pain. Mostly not in my back. After over a week, early this past spring, of being so weak in my legs and in so much pain that I could not climb my stairs, I re-visited all my failed stops over the previous years and requested a scoliosis workup, diagnosis, and plan, which I got that very day. My back is the most amazing mess. (I have always loved loking at x-rays.) At our age, (50'and 60's +) we can be complicated with arthritic changes in the spine. One of the back doctors called me an "elderly white woman." Okay. I thought of parents as elderly when they were in their nineties. He also had an expensive visit with me in which he never touched my back. I found out about the schroth therapy through a nurse navigator in my Medicare Insurance plan. They had just approved the inclusion of this treatment modality in the plan and she encouraged me to look into it. I was pretty desparate by that time because if I did not improve I was going to have to move someplace else. In the interval before my appointment, I found a book which if I had thousands of dollars I would give to every single person whom I know and love. It is called The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook by Clair Davies and his daughter Amber Davies. Through learning about these places in every muscle and how to release these very small points of unreleased contractions of the sarcomeres, I was out of pain and able to just get out of my van, stand up normally, and walk right off. CLimb the stairs again. And so forth. It ws utterly revolutionary.
the Scroth therapy people know what theya re doing. They know soliosis like nobody else. I am impressed with it already. I know that I must take responsibility for how I work with the program and I am sure it can return the spine towards normalcy. It is the imbalance of the muscles which bringthat spine down more and more and one thing follows upon another. When we are adults and this has been going on for longer than for the children and teenagers, I think we have our own set of problems, but I am thankful for every little piece of information that I have discovered along the way that I can use to help myself. It is a great, great blessing and I encourage you to look into it. It is when you find out all you can that you have the options to keep on keeping on!
I have been very sad that I was not diagnosed, becasue I am pretty sure that I cannot reclaim those lost years of my life and health and income. But going forward, and I hope that you too can have access to this Schroth program, there is more hope than before. I would suggest that you check into that book by Clair Davies too. I could not even have gotten to my appointment if it had not been for that book. Blessings.

[gail govan]

...and another thing...

Lisenzia,
You mention in your post that you have suffered form sciatica and so on. In the Trigger Point Therapy Workbook it tells how to deal with that. It is from the Piriformis muscle which gets a trigger point activated, shortens, can't relax, and gets wider with the shortening, and impinges on the sciatic nerve. Knowing how to release the contracted trigger point which is unbelievably easy to do, gets you back on the road again. I had blow-torch pain involving all the short hip rotators, the piriformis being the larger of the three, and for longer than I care to think about, and now I not only do not have that, but if it tries to return, I can get it stopped. If you see anyone with a tennis ball rolling it against their van door in the parking lot with their buttocks, it will probably be ME. I do not think this problem was related to my scoliosis in any way except for the muscle imbalance engendered by the unbalance of our whole body, but it sure inhibits living.

[gail govan]

Hi Mehere, thanx for responding.

Well there is a chiropractic place outside of Toronto that I have found:
http://www.leasidechiro.com/

Also someone in California:
http://www.scoliosispt.net/

also the clinic in Arizona:
http://www.scoliosisrehab.com/

I have friends in Toronto I can stay with. Right now it is all about money. I am guessing $60/hr minimum (?) so $1200 plus travel and accomodation. That's why I wish there was someone here in Vancouver or Seattle. My issue is mostly rotational but I think it is very bad and getting worse and I have been getting painful radiulopathy that is also feeding into the rotation and long story but I really need to at least stop this from getting worse. So because it is not huge I am hoping I won't need as many hours. I have already figured out some exercises on my own but I get really scared playing with my own body and the physiotherapists I have seen won't touch it- one told me that with scolioiss you are just dragged along a never-ending path of adjustments and it is best just to leave it alone (!!!). The others- well 2 say just focus on muscle balance but that is trickier than they think, and one or 2 said basically all they can do is treat the pain. I SO do not believe that. If I could just find someone who has it themselves- these PT's really just don't seem to understand.

I believe in the Scroth because I accidentally came up with a couple of those exercises on my own without knowing they are Scroth (such as when a little boy in some old video footage places facecloths under his butt, chest and shoulder while laying flat- I have been doing that and have wondered and wondered if I should be doing that when I do all the core exercises the PT gives me- I asked and she said no...)

I guess I will phone some of these placees to find out exactly what type of xrays they need. What kind did you bring?

If anyone has heard of that first place I mentioned- the one in Toronto, I would appreciate hearing about it- you can PM me if you like.


thanx

There is a Scoliosis Rehab office in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. That is a little closer than Arizona to Toronto! I just went there for my first appointment. They required a referral form the physician and the x-rays in advance so the therapist could look at them and be ready for the patient. There are forms that you have to fill out also in advance of the appointment. The therapists have been to Europe (Barcelona) for the training. The therapist I saw had gone there with her son who has scoliosis and so she is extra-understanding.
In my pain experience I also have found the Trigger Point Therapy Workbook by Clair Davies and his daughter Amber to be the most/only helpful information for the muscle pain that everyone not just scoliosis patients suffer. The trigger point releasing information in that book, which shows you every single muscle and where the trigger points are and where they sponsor pain to, was the most single important thing I have found to relieve pain and reclaim function of muscles so long abused.

[lisazena]

Trigger Point therapy

Hi Gail,
Thanks for your very interesting post.

I actually have since discovered that I don't have congenital scoliosis. I have idiopathic scoliosis and like you was blown away by the extent of it when I discovered it last year. i think that's common in middle age.

I have been beginning to think that what is causing me problems with my mobility is a muscular imbalance (since a CT myelogram showed degenerative changes, but nothing to explain possible nerve impingement) and have been thinking about going for trigger point injections. Maybe all I need is the book, but figuring out how to implement the book sounds potentially daunting. Obviously you didn't find it this way.

What are your curves? And you are very clear about how the trigger point therapy has helped you, but how about the Schroth? How long have you been doing it? I did see a Schroth therapist in NY and because I thought I had peroneal neuropathy (I don't) she didn't want to do anything with me other than standard therapy and she charged me anyway. And I had told her about the possible nerve issues ahead of time.

How long have you been working on the trigger points and Schroth?

I look forward to learning more. Thanks again.
Lisa

[gail govan]

I am very clear

Hi Gail,
Thanks for your very interesting post.

I actually have since discovered that I don't have congenital scoliosis. I have idiopathic scoliosis and like you was blown away by the extent of it when I discovered it last year. i think that's common in middle age.

I have been beginning to think that what is causing me problems with my mobility is a muscular imbalance (since a CT myelogram showed degenerative changes, but nothing to explain possible nerve impingement) and have been thinking about going for trigger point injections. Maybe all I need is the book, but figuring out how to implement the book sounds potentially daunting. Obviously you didn't find it this way.

What are your curves? And you are very clear about how the trigger point therapy has helped you, but how about the Schroth? How long have you been doing it? I did see a Schroth therapist in NY and because I thought I had peroneal neuropathy (I don't) she didn't want to do anything with me other than standard therapy and she charged me anyway. And I had told her about the possible nerve issues ahead of time.

How long have you been working on the trigger points and Schroth?

I look forward to learning more. Thanks again.
Lisa

Hi Lisa,
What a wonderful thing that I found your reply. Here is what happened. (Answer to your question: Trigger points two weeeks, Schroth one visit so far.) (The trigger point book will answer questions about all sorts of neuropathies and pains and malfunctions. It will "blow you away") Implementing the book is done right in your hands because this very skillful writer tells and illustrates exactly how. It will not be daunting when you actually see his illustrations
I had given up on the physicians. One of them even wrote in my chart that I was paranoid which I took care of with a medical records correction but I was about out of my mind with pain. It changes you. It dehumanizes you. I was out of work and on disability from a policy my clinic carries on their doctors, and that was going to run out at the end of two years and I was at that two year point. I was talking with a friend in Washington State one day and she related how she had had a fall and had developed unrelenting sciatica so bad she could not stay in one position for more than a few minutes. Her daughters talked her into seeing the chiropractor they were going to and she went, and got out of pain quickly with that. He was a NUCCA chiropractor. (Do you mind a slightly long story?) So she on her computer located one of those and he is thirty miles from me and he is the one who diagnosed me with the scoliosis because from my symptoms he knew to take a full length weight bearing x-ray. Of all things, scoliosis was one of the two exemptions from getting the disability cut off and so I was "saved" by the x-ray. His x-ray was not as crisp of the workup I got in May when I went back to the clinic and rquested a full workup and their x-rays showed two old compression fractures in my thoracic spine and which I remember exactly when they happened, (and the same clinic did not find that either. I heard the bones break when I fell at the foot on mys tairs in the middle of the night one night.) Thankfully they continued the payments of my salary til I was 65. But ultimately this spring I faced off my chiropractor who is lots of fun and very dear to me, and I told him it seemed that he was thinking Utopia ("as long as you are alive you can heal") and I was experiencing Entropy! It was at the beginning of the spring, and I was so much weak and in pain from a relapse, that I could not climb my stairs. Could not sit or drive and then get up from the van or the chair and hold myself up because of pain and utter weakness of my leg muscles and hip. Buttock pain was so bad I could not sleep. I saw the other chiropractor in the office who is more gentle and who listens to you better, and he worked only on my sacro-iliac joint as I asked and released trigger points in the ilio-psoas muscle. I asked him for a book to read. He said his were not there. He showed me a poster with the muscles there, and the trigger points, and where the trigger points in the psoas muscle sponser pain, which is all down the front of the thigh. "Give me an author" I said. He replied, "Travell and Simmons". Home I went, and to Amazon. Volume one of Travell and Simons was $87.00 and volume two was more than that. I thought, "What if I get the wrong volume?" But there in addition to those two volumes, was Clair Davies' the Trigger Point therapy Workbook. I Bless the day I found that book. I was also throughout the summer going back to the clinic, requested a scoliosis workup and diagnosis and plan, and saw the PT who told me that scoliosis PT is a specialty on its own, and an OT who showed me a most wonrderful thing called a TheraCane which I came home and ordered. $29.95 and shipping free. Google it and you can find it. But it was not until about three weeks ago that my book came. It was here when I returned from having an mri of my thoracic spine, lumbar and sacral spine as the back doctor wanted and I was agreeable because I did want to know the amount of stenosis that is there just for the record. If the nerves are too impinged there is less hope of having a decent impulse to the poor muscles. So I open my book. Almost three hundred very pleasant pages. And I happened to open it to the place where the piriformis muscle is discussed. There it was, a picture with the trigger point. My place where the blowtorch starts up and progresses from there. I got so interiorly enraged that I told my husband I had just commmitted at least six mortal sins in under two minutes, becuase God forgive me I could just feel myself taking my book and going to that clinic and slamming every single one of the bozos who had just stared at me or through me when I went in there in so much pain. I am now over that terrible feeling and I know that they just did not know. Now to your question. In a couple of days I was essentially free of the buttocks pain. It took a little more study to deal with the leg problem of not being able to stand up and hold myself up when I would get up from a seated position. It was so relatively easy that I am still and will remain very enthusiastic. Davies has found that at least 75% of the pain that is out there all the time in people who have surgery including surgery to sever the piriformis muscle is from tiny over-contracted places int he muscles which get activated, and then stay contracted and if you know how to release these with a tiny massage stroke (he does not think that this press and hold works well and neither do I) then you can immediately relieve the muscle of the disabling pain and weakness. (One of the funny things he writes is "If the piriformis muscle is the source of your trouble you're lucky if you ever find out." I know full well what he means.
I actually called Maxine the nurse navigator at my insurance company and told her about this book. She had wanted to know how I was doing, as I had called her in my frustration and grief about all the time that had gone by and none of the docs had even made a diagnosis, and while I was telling her about the book she looked it up on Amazon. She said there were 388 five-star reviews of the book, and she said she was going to order one. (I added my five star review so then there would be 389). I thought that if every one in the huge offices building where she works had that book they could really cut their lost times off work and think of how much they would not have to pay out in insurance payments for futile, damaging surgeries which only disable a person more, and blah. I found this book to be so wonderful I sleep with it so I can refer to it and have not let go of it. A friend and I had lunch last Tuesday and she remarked right away when she saw me that I looked thinner and stood up straighter. Thank you Clair Davies. More than I can ever, ever say. I hope Lisa that you are able to get a copy of this book and that it can help you. It puts the ball into your hands, your park.
The Scroth therapy is another thing altogether, and I am going to make use of it as well. Anyone and everyone, scoliosis or not, can use the Davies information. The scoliosis is an added factor. My second appointment is coming up and I think that it would not be so helpful without the Davies book. I might not have been able to walk into their office if it had not been that I had released my tensor fascia latae muscle so I could stand up and walk. the exercises have already activated some trigger points in the uper body so I am glad I know what to do about them.
I hope this is not too long and rambling. I wonder how many of us are out there dragging around and not getting the help they need. I will keep you up to date on the Schroth therapy, but I am certain they really know what they are doing. You have to have someo0ne who respects and knows scoliosis for therapy. I am going to consider massage therapy too, and you will see why if you order that book. Gail

[Bigbluefrog]

Thanks for sharing your story, my daughter is only 15 and we went to Steven's point for therapy, it was
One of the best things we ever did.

The back lengthened and increase in height, lung function, improved posture, visible and measurable
changes.

I would recommend seeing an orthopedic surgeon too. It is good to know all your options.

Schroth requires dedicated exercises, also a good massage therapist.

We continue to see a chiropractor, massage therapist, schroth PT, and see an orthopedic surgeon.

Soon she will be done wearing the brace....looking forward to that!

[TAMZTOM]

Spinecor can be used with congenital scoliosis

Spinecor cannot be used in congenital scoliosis? It not seems so clear why. I think that curve also should to be reduced while using this brace.

Spinceor actually will prescribe the brace to those with congenital scoliosis--the patient or parent just has to sign a waiver. It's on their website.

[Pooka1]

Spinceor actually will prescribe the brace to those with congenital scoliosis--the patient or parent just has to sign a waiver. It's on their website.

No I think the comment was really about whether Spinecor can possibly help even in principle with congenital scoliosis given there are malformed vertebrae. I think you may have misunderstood him to be asking whether they prescribe it in a case of congenital. I bet they would sell the brace to anyone at all provided they had the scratch.