Strengthening is an extension of Posture and Proprioception training
The most important part of scoliosis treatment is posture and proprioception training, which I discussed in detail in an earlier blog article. I start the process of training posture and proprioception with Mirror Work, where my student learns to correct their posture, and – most importantly – integrate this correction into their awareness of a more symmetrical, more upright posture in their everyday life.
It’s interesting to note that when you are making a correction during Mirror Work you are doing a strengthening exercise, although it is a less recognizable, more subtle strengthening exercise than a biceps curl or a barbell squat. In order to make a postural correction you are asking muscles to work harder to draw you into alignment that have not worked in this way for a long time or possibly ever.
Strengthening is best used as an extension of Mirror Work. In your strengthening routine your goal should be to use each strength exercise as a way to bring yourself into a more symmetrical posture. Anyone can do an overhead press, but to perform an overhead press with significant weight while resisting your scoliotic habit, and instead standing with an improved symmetry, is extremely challenging, and also extremely beneficial.
The usefulness of strength work
Strengthening exercises offer a few different elements that make them very helpful in a scoliosis treatment plan.
Strength work is a proven way to increase muscular volume and vitality. A core principle of scoliosis treatment is to increase volume and vitality in the compression areas of the torso.
Strengthening exercises that target the upper and lower limb require stabilization from the postural muscles along the spine. This aligns well with the goal in scoliosis treatment of waking up and balancing the core stabilizer muscles of the spine.
Strengthening exercises are an extension of Mirror Work, which is the essential way you can improve posture and proprioception. Adding a weight-bearing exercise while continuing to work carefully on posture and proprioception increases the effectiveness of Mirror Work.
The Exercises
The core strength exercises I use are:
- Vertical pull: Single arm lat pull down.
- Horizontal pull: Single arm rhomboid row.
- Vertical push: Dumbbell overhead press.
- Horizontal push: Dumbbell bench press.
- Single leg press: Either horizontal or seated.
Vertical Pull
The vertical pull is also called the lat pulldown, referring to the latissimus dorsi muscle. The goal of the lat pulldown is to bring vitality and volume to the thoracic compression area of your torso. As you’re pulling with only one side of your body, this is also a great exercise for training your torso to remain symmetrical and upright even as you work asymmetrically.
I have a left thoracic compression area and perform this exercise with each arm. When I’m using my left arm this exercise builds volume and vitality in my left thoracic compression area. When I’m using my right arm I use this exercise to train myself to keep my posture as symmetrical as possible throughout the movement.
Horizontal Pull
The horizontal pull is also called the rhomboid row, referring to the rhomboid muscles that connect the spine with the shoulder blade. The goal of this exercise, like the lat pulldown, is to bring vitality and volume to the thoracic compression area of your torso.
Again, like the lat pulldown, when I’m working my left arm my goal is to maintain symmetrical alignment and build volume and vitality in my left thoracic compression area. When I’m working my right arm my goal is simply to maintain torso symmetry as much as possible throughout the movement.
Vertical Push
The vertical push is more commonly called the shoulder press or the overhead press. A shoulder press is usually included in someone’s workout routine because they’re interested in developing stronger shoulders. For those of us with scoliosis this exercise has another purpose. As you bring the weights above your head for the shoulder press the pressure from the weights has to be transferred through your torso and spine and down through your legs to the ground. This makes the shoulder press an excellent exercise for training yourself to resist your scoliotic habit of compression.
A single arm vertical push is an awkward exercise to do. Unlike with the two previous pull exercises, I do two handed vertical pushes.
Horizontal Push
The horizontal push is also called the bench press. The bench press can be performed with a barbell or dumbbells and I suggest dumbbells, so that you can make sure that your arms are working equally. The bench press is the least important of the four upper body exercises that I use for scoliosis strengthening. It doesn’t build the muscles of your back in the way that the pull exercises do, and it doesn’t teach you to stand while organizing your posture symmetrically in the way that the overhead press does. However, it’s important to include the bench press in your strengthening routine. You will be increasing the strength of your back with the pull exercises, and it’s important to maintain front to back balance.
Single Leg Press
There are two reasons for doing the single leg press. The first is to make sure that your legs are equally long – as always we don’t want to have asymmetric strength. The second is to train you to resist your scoliotic habit of torso compression when doing this leg exercise. As the amount of weight that you’re pressing increases you’ll find that your scoliotic habit becomes more evident and harder to resist. Keeping your torso symmetrical while you work your legs is a great skill to develop.
Starting Strength Exercises
When I first started weight training I began with very light weights, because I had never done strength work before. Don’t worry about how light the weights are when you begin doing a strengthening routine, and don’t try to increase the amount of weight that you’re using too quickly or you risk injuring yourself. The important thing is to be consistent. Try to include strengthening in your routine three times per week.
Progressive Overload
Progressive overload is a term used to describe the process of increasing the amount of weight you train with so that your muscles get tired during your workout. As you do more strength training you will find that the weight you started with becomes easy. At this point you should increase the amount of weight that you’re using so that your muscles continue to be challenged. Remember that your goal is to build volume and vitality in the compression areas of your torso. Gradually increasing the amount of weight that you work out with is a way to encourage the muscles in the compression areas of your torso to continue to grow.
The nice thing about strength work is that it will also make you fitter and stronger in general. I like having a scoliosis care routine that helps me be generally stronger, so that it’s more than just a treatment for my scoliosis that has no other application in my life.
Good luck with your strengthening. I’ll be writing more articles on this topic, and if you have any questions send me a message.