Success with Scoliosis

I’m not going to take you on a long journey to reach the point of this article, or create any kind of suspense or anticipation.

The key to success is consistency.

Of course, the first step to successful scoliosis treatment, as with any goal we care to pursue, is to come up with the right plan for achieving our end. Here I’m going to summarize the plan that I use to succeed with my own scoliosis treatment, which is also my approach with all of my students.

The main principle of scoliosis treatment is to help you maintain as symmetrical and upright a posture as possible in as much of your daily life as possible.

In order to achieve this, I provide training designed to improve your posture and proprioception.

Your scoliosis can resist further progression and need for surgery when you create volume and vitality in the compression areas of your torso.

The main principle of scoliosis treatment is to help you maintain as symmetrical and upright a posture as possible in as much of your daily life as possible.

Training on vacation in Cancun, Mexico.

Strengthening exercises, stretching and mobility exercises are all effective means of making your whole body stronger and more flexible, creating volume and vitality in the compression areas of your torso and training you for a more symmetrical and upright posture.

As ways of creating volume and vitality in the compression areas of your torso, all exercises are an opportunity to train and improve your posture and proprioception.

I use manual treatment to support the exercises that you do and to influence parts of your body that are hard to impact with exercises.

These are the 4 Pillars of Scoliosis Treatment:

• Posture and proprioception training.

• Strengthening

• Stretching and mobility work

• Manual treatment

This is a thorough and effective way of treating scoliosis and it has transformed my body and coordination. It has the potential to do the same for you.

Over time you can grow in skill and confidence in recognizing your own scoliotic habit and resisting it to maintain a more symmetrical and upright posture. Over time you will be able to do this with greater accuracy and effectiveness, and you will be able sustain your improved posture over a longer and longer period of time.

If you are consistent. If you stick with it.

Areas of Expansion and Areas of Compression

In my last blog post I explained how I identify my clients’ compression areas from looking at their X-rays. In this blog I’m going to connect how the compression areas on the X-ray images correspond to what a person might look like at a first session.

Here are two pairs of images showing my compression areas. A pair indicating my thoracic compression area in both X-ray and photograph, and then the same for my lumbar compression.

When treating scoliosis I identify the areas of expansion and the areas of compression within the scoliotic person’s body. The areas of expansion lie on the convexity of a curve. The areas of compression lie on the concavity of a curve. There is always an area of compression beneath the lowest curve. This is a fact of geometry.

The areas of expansion in a scoliotic person’s body are often areas where they feel sensation – frequently tightness and discomfort. The areas of compression are more often areas where the person has less awareness of sensation. Practitioners are often drawn to working in the expansion areas of a person’s scoliosis. Expansion areas are more bulky than compression areas and appear to need help in relaxing and coming into better balance. It is a mistake for practitioners to focus their attention on the expansion areas of a scoliosis. It is better to work on bringing more volume and vitality to the areas of compression.

When treating scoliosis I identify and work on the compression areas, starting with the lowest area and working my way up the body. In a person with an S shaped scoliosis, where there is a lumbar curve to the left and a thoracic curve to the right, the areas of compression are:

-          On the left side lower torso between the lumbar spine and the pelvis

-          On the right side torso in the concavity of the lumbar curve

-          On the left side of the mid/upper torso in the concavity of the thoracic curve

These curves are identified in the image below:

There will also be a compression area above the thoracic curve as the spine attempts to return to the midline beneath the cranium, but this compression is of less importance than the lower compressions.

Working with the lowest compression area requires working on all of the muscles and fascia of the legs and hips, the goal being to balance these structures so that the pelvis can rest on the legs with as much structural and tonal balance as possible. Structural balance refers to achieving symmetry in skeletal position. Tonal balance refers to achieving evenness of tone in the relevant muscles. 

Opening the lowest compression involves a dual task of organizing the leg on the side of the compression, and creating space and movement within the compression area itself. As both legs become better organized, and as the lowest compression becomes fuller and more mobile, I begin to work on the next compression up the person’s body. With this method, I apply a systematic approach to helping a person with scoliosis have more ease, poise and balance.