Forward Head Position: A Cause of Scoliosis

[cherylplinder]

I want to print these out and show them to our orthopedics. They are Drs. Coillard and Rivard, designers of the Spinecor brace. Dr. Coillard did her doctoral thesis on the biomechanics of the spine. I'll be she could shed some light for us. I wonder if the brace addresses all of these issues or if some need to be addressed in another way. My daughter has to have some of this. I have noticed her increased lordosis and kyphosis for a long time. She had a turned leg and foot, but that seems to be corrected by the brace. I don't know about her head position. It was odd and may still be, but I probably couldn't have described it to you. I am floored that none of this was addressed earlier with her. Do physical therapists address this? I have a friend that is a physical therapist. I will ask him if he knows how to address it also.
We only began seeing Dr. Coillard and Dr. Rivard in January.
Thanks

[The Professor]

I've heard of this, but I think that this is a minor cause of scoliosis-- only a small percentage of cases. Many patients will have a combination of all 3- FHP, SI joint dysfunction, and scoliosis. Exactly which one came first is anyone's guess.

My legs are of equal height (x-rays verify this)-- pelvis is tilted, but is this because of the scoliosis or the cause of it? There's not really any way to tell. An animal model would probably be a better way to predict.

[expatient]

Try these:
http://www.healing.org/only-3.html
http://www.independenceback.com/causes.htm

[Sherie]

I don't know about her head position. It was odd and may still be, but I probably couldn't have described it to you. I am floored that none of this was addressed earlier with her. Do physical therapists address this? I have a friend that is a physical therapist. I will ask him if he knows how to address it also.
We only began seeing Dr. Coillard and Dr. Rivard in January.Thanks

Sheena had a very noticeable FHP (I always called it poor posture) before she was wearing the spinecor, it has been completely corrected in the 7 weeks that she's had the brace. She is also exercising on a stair stepper with her head in traction that I think has contributed to the correction. She can now sit up nice and straight even without her brace. What I have noticed though, is that she no longer looks down at the floor, but her head is tilted towards the left shoulder most of the time, I suppose to compensate for the right thoracic curve........... I never really noticed her poor posture before she was diagnosed, which makes me believe that it's the scoliosis that causes FHP.

Cheryl,
Our chiro is providing this traction/stair stepper therapy for Sheena. She also looks at a striped wall to correct her proprioception and wears glasses with the upper half of the lenses blackened out so she if forced to tilt her head back to look through them. This can all be done at home if the person is willing to do it regularly.

[expatient]

My legs are of equal height (x-rays verify this)-- pelvis is tilted, but is this because of the scoliosis or the cause of it? There's not really any way to tell. An animal model would probably be a better way to predict.

But if you take care of your pelvis tilt, then you can see if it straightens scoliosis or not?
Pelvis is the foundation of the spine. If it is twisted the spine can not be normal. But I think in some cases it can be from Atlas subluxation. It causes scoliosis and pelvis misalignment too. That is an other very common subluxation medical world does not believe in. From that you can read here:
http://www.upcspine.com/anatomy2.htm

I don't know which comes first, but if you correct them all you can have more normal life... So correct your SIJD, Atlas and spine subluxations and hip joint subluxations... I did!

[green m&m]

But if you take care of your pelvis tilt, then you can see if it straightens scoliosis or not?

And what if the 'correction' of the pelvic tilt makes thing worse?

I can guarentee my scoliosis was not caused by any SIJD or atlas sublaxtion.

[sweetness514]

Expatient:

What was the degree of your curve(s), and what are they now?

[The Professor]

But if you take care of your pelvis tilt, then you can see if it straightens scoliosis or not?

"Straightening" the pelvic tilt did nothing to alleviate the scoliosis; my chiropractor tried that. He even told me going in that he didn't think that it would help that much. As far as he or I can tell from the x-rays, there's not a problem with my atlas or axis; those two are straight and the occipital condyles look pretty much textbook-normal.

[expatient]

Expatient:

What was the degree of your curve(s), and what are they now?

I was lucky, I had only mild scoliosis. The degrees were never measured...

[expatient]

"Straightening" the pelvic tilt did nothing to alleviate the scoliosis; my chiropractor tried that. He even told me going in that he didn't think that it would help that much. As far as he or I can tell from the x-rays, there's not a problem with my atlas or axis; those two are straight and the occipital condyles look pretty much textbook-normal.

But HOW he TRIED to correct your pelvic tilt? There are many ways and most of them are wrong... I have experienced wrong treatments a lot!

[meagain]

pelvic tilt

Your conversations are interesting even though as a newbie to scoliosis, I'm probable missing half of it-

My daughter was diagnosed two months ago, and the shorter leg question had been bothering me since no one seemed to address it. We received some aggressive chiropractic while waiting on orthopedic, mri, etc.

Then my friend recommended her chiropracter who practices the Denton method. He found her tailbone misaligned and believes he can staighten her leg discrepancy. She has had two visits to him. Her tailbone stayed in alignment after the first visit, and I'm watching to see if her legs stay even.
Her feet are very flat and after we found the scoliosis I noticed that her left ankle was leaning toward the floor. The chiropracter's theory is that the body is trying to lengthen that leg, causing the foot to turn inward & up.

Megan

[expatient]

So you start to see... legs are equal lengths even if, with many people, they seem not to be! And yes, tail bone can be misaligned, also sacrum, also SIJs, also hip joints,... there are many reasons for those misalignments. And very few know how to diagnose them. Even fewer know how to treat them. And even fewer knows how to treat them well...