Scoliosis is a sideways curve of the backbone that causes severe pain to the person it affects. The sideways spine-curve varies from patient to patient on the position of the curve in the body. However, all scoliosis curves resemble either the letter c or the letter s at their curvature.
Most of the time, this abnormal curve at the spine gives people uneven postures where the shoulders and the waist cannot align. The affected people suffer severe back pain and have difficulties breathing. Patients also experience hindered mobility, among many other problems.
The cause of scoliosis can range from congenital disorders, family health problems, previous injuries, and work-related activities. You can also develop scoliosis because of a condition called osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a rare condition that causes the bones of older people to soften. You can quickly identify someone who is infected with scoliosis by the bump in their thoracic region or the posture they stand, walk, or perform various activities—teachers in physical education classes test or scoliosis by telling students to complete the Adams forward bending test. Students stand upright and lean forward in attempts to touch their toes as the teachers inspect humps in the spine and measure the legs’ length in relation to the whole body to identify unevenness in the students’ skeletal structure.
For adults, the ideal way to identify scoliosis is to visit a chiropractor. Unlike other spinal or muscle-related problems, scoliosis is difficult to treat because it is the spinal curve that is unique for every patient. Therefore, the physical therapy required for one patient is different from the one necessary to treat the other. However, although it may pose a challenge to cure some patients completely, chiropractors can effectively treat scoliosis using physical therapy.
Scoliosis treatment is a long-term process, and you should make sure you do not choose a chiropractor that will worsen your situation. Most chiropractic approaches are to find stuck vertebrae or joints and to unhook them. However, scoliosis requires a chiropractor to find the root of the stuck joint. Unhooking a scoliosis patient’s stuck joint without finding the source of the problem and repositioning the spine piles more pressure to the spinal code and causes more problems. Here is a simple method that chiropractors use for scoliosis treatment.
Physical Therapy Exercise for Scoliosis Treatment
One of the most common physical methods of scoliosis treatment is called the Schroth method. It involves a series of exercises aimed at elongating, rotating, and stabilizing the spine back to its three-dimensional plane.
Schroth physical therapy focuses on;
Emphasizing posture awareness to the patients.
They are teaching patients to breathe towards the concave side of their deformed bodies.
Restoration of muscular symmetry to enable alignment of the patient’s posture.
Because a scoliosis patient’s spine coils and rotates the vertebrae as it curves, the spine compresses and elongates differently throughout the curve. Therefore chiropractors tailor Schroth exercises according to the patient’s deformity. Patients perform these physical therapy activities using Schroth bars, poles, and therapy balls. Although the therapy procedures might be different.
They are reinforcing muscular symmetry.
The crooked curvature of the spine affects your back muscles because one side carries the body’s weight while the other side wastes away.
They are aiming at rotational breathing and posture awareness.
Schroth exercises help you to breath in rotation to expand the rib cage equally in all angles.
When you are aware of your posture at all times, it helps you to position it subconsciously during your daily living activities.
The benefit of physical therapy in treating scoliosis is that after a few sessions, you will have improved your spine’s stability and strength. You will also experience better alignment of the backbone and pelvis, which will ease your pain and improve your breathing. Better bone and muscle alignment also allows you to move and function better.
The curvature of the spine is uncomfortable, painful, and a health hazard to people of all ages. It is most common in children and older people. However, scoliosis may develop during an individual’s teenage years.
Although doctors can prescribe surgery for scoliosis treatment, chiropractors can treat the curved spine using a series of physical therapy exercises. Physical therapy includes therapeutic stretching that realigns the spine and muscle tissues around it to ease pressure from the nervous system and stabilize a human being’s skeletal structure. The most significant advantage of physical therapy is that you treat scoliosis effectively while avoiding surgery.
Therefore, whenever you have a spinal notch or notice bumps on a loved one’s thoracic region, do not hesitate to visit a chiropractor immediately. Call us at 205-637-1363 to learn more.
