Looking for exercises, natural remedies, etc, for scoliosis.

[Pen]

My ds14 was just found to have scoliosis. I am looking for things to do other than wait and see if it goes past 20% curve at which point they'd want to do braces or surgery or whatever they'd want to do.

 

He thinks his legs may be different lengths and that could be adding to or causing the problem. Also he spends a lot of time in positions that to me seem like they could contribute to a less than straight back.

 

Thank you in advance for any help anyone can offer!

[caedmyn]

If you google "Katy Bowman scoliosis" she has at least one blog post on scoliosis. She's a human biomechanist who specializes in teaching people how to correct their posture/alignment and teaches on how improper alignment can cause or contribute to a wide range of health problems.

 

Also the book 8 Steps to a Pain Free Back has pictures in it of a girl with severe scoliosis who corrected it with the author's alignment exercises, so that might be something to look into.

[MEmama]

My son was diagnosed at 11 or 12; the following year his spine had returned to normal. His doctor (a GP, not a pediatrician) told me not to be concerned, that it's very, very common during puberty. Hopefully that's the case with your son as well.

[dirty ethel rackham]

I'm not an expert but dd15 graduated from a brace for scoliosis in the past year.  There really isn't a lot of evidence that alternative treatments prevent worsening of scoliosis, but I looked at it as "it can't hurt." 

 

Dd was diagnosed when she was 12, after a particularly aggressive growth spurt.  She previously had a physical where a screening was done and there wasn't a noticeable curve.  6 months later, after said growth spurt, I noticed that she was walking crookedly, that one hip stuck out more than the other.   After a referral to an orthopedist, we discovered that she went from no noticeable curve to a 27 degree curve in that time frame.  She is an athlete who regularly did a lot of core work as part of her training.  So, it wasn't a weak core that caused it.  She was already receiving chiropractic care for a non-spinal issue.  It was explained to us that one side of her grew faster than the other.  Looking at her torso and rib cage, that was evident.  Her ribs are actually bigger on one side.  Her sports medicine person gave her a program of exercises designed to strengthen muscles to help equalize the forces on her spine.  We didn't find it very effective, but it may have been that the exercises were not intense enough to counteract the already strenuous core work she did in training for her sport.  We didn't eschew conventional treatment.  She had a Charleston bending brace, which she only wore at night.  We chose this because she has a c-curve, rather than an s-curve and we didn't want to interfere with her training nor compromise her core muscles.  She went from 27% to 23% with treatment and was finally released from treatment when her x-rays showed enough bone maturity to indicate that she was finished growing.  Since she finished treatment, she is back to a 25% curvature, but this is considered successful treatment in that she did not get worse than her starting point.  Other than some clothes not hanging straight on her and a little bit of uneven strength in her core and shoulders, she has no ill effects from her curve.  She does constantly work to mitigate the uneven strength issues. 

[Pen]

If you google "Katy Bowman scoliosis" she has at least one blog post on scoliosis. She's a human biomechanist who specializes in teaching people how to correct their posture/alignment and teaches on how improper alignment can cause or contribute to a wide range of health problems.

 

Also the book 8 Steps to a Pain Free Back has pictures in it of a girl with severe scoliosis who corrected it with the author's alignment exercises, so that might be something to look into.

 

 

I got the 8 steps book, which looks like it will be helpful.

 

I'm trying to find the right Katy Bowman info, and having trouble finding anythng on scoliosis, though maybe what she writes about other back issues would also be relevant.

Is her book any good?

[wapiti]

Has he had an MRI to rule out other causes?  (e.g. tethered cord issues; just my usual PSA)

[Supertechmom]

We had a similar situation and went to a chiro.  Our son had gone from no curve to a curve of 17 or so degrees and the idea from the MD was brace at night and when the curve gets worse do surgery.  Our chiro who said he couldn't cure scoliosis but did an aggressive treatment program of 3 times a week for several months with gradual backdown to once a month and now to growth spurts and the occasional when he feels crooked or has a headache.  He fixed the uneven leg length, the uneven hips, the migraines, and the curve is practically gone ( s curve).  He gave him exercises to better develop the weaker side, some basic PT,        Whenever we have a growth spurt, we step up visits to once a week at least to keep the spine aligned.  his was due to rapid growth and uneven muscle development.  Best money I ever spent and much better treatment plan than the MD.

[Pen]

Has he had an MRI to rule out other causes?  (e.g. tethered cord issues; just my usual PSA)

 

No. Is it common for tethered cord to manifest as looking like scoliosis?  I thought tethered cord tended to cause some pain and neurological symptoms.

 

We had a similar situation and went to a chiro.  Our son had gone from no curve to a curve of 17 or so degrees and the idea from the MD was brace at night and when the curve gets worse do surgery.  Our chiro who said he couldn't cure scoliosis but did an aggressive treatment program of 3 times a week for several months with gradual backdown to once a month and now to growth spurts and the occasional when he feels crooked or has a headache.  He fixed the uneven leg length, the uneven hips, the migraines, and the curve is practically gone ( s curve).  He gave him exercises to better develop the weaker side, some basic PT,        Whenever we have a growth spurt, we step up visits to once a week at least to keep the spine aligned.  his was due to rapid growth and uneven muscle development.  Best money I ever spent and much better treatment plan than the MD.

 

That's wonderful!   Could you give me any suggestions on how to find a good chiropractor for this?

[Harriet Vane]

Core strengthening and chiropractic care, definitely.

 

In addition, a friend of mine swears by having the child hang from a bar each day. Her chiropractor recommended it. 

[umsami]

There is a specialized form of massage therapy known as Rolfing or Structural Integration.  It's a series of 10 massages that work on the various muscle groups and can help.

 

You can also look into the Feldenkrais method, which is more focused on how we move when we do repetitive tasks and how that can impact our posture/spine.

[wapiti]

No. Is it common for tethered cord to manifest as looking like scoliosis?  I thought tethered cord tended to cause some pain and neurological symptoms.

 

Scoliosis can be a symptom of tethered cord, but I don't know what percentage of the time that is the case.  I just have the sense that it may be overlooked and so I throw it out there whenever I see a question about something that happens to be a symptom.  Pain and neurological symptoms may or may not be present (my ds, who was only 5 y.o., had idiopathic voiding dysfunction and constipation, but no pain).  Another sign might be a skin marker of any kind along the midline near the base of the spine or in the gluteal cleft (aka butt crack), such as a sacral dimple, any type of bump, skin mark, hair tuft, curved gluteal cleft, etc.

 

I hope you find some alternative treatments :)

[Supertechmom]

I picked one who had massage therapy and PT and had kid patients. We use a chiro at Healthsource.  I don't know if that is a national chain or what but they have several offices here. They had information sessions so we were able to get a feel for the place.  Plus, he was open and upfront that he couldn't cure scoliosis but could manage the uneven legs/hips and headaches. He was ten when we started.