by Karena Thek Lineback
The answer: Maybe; Maybe not. Depends on a couple of things:
#1: How exaggerated is your curve? and
#2: Are you in pain?
Most everyone has a cute little curve happening in the spine but it’s to such a slight degree that doing nothing about it is usually the best way to go unless the curve is creating pain. Sometimes someone with a 10-degree curve might be experiencing pain while someone with a 50-degree curve has no pain at all. The difference in pain levels may have to do with what created the curve in the first place.
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As an adult, scoliosis can be pain-induced. If something in your back is hurting, you’ll move your spine in a ‘creative’ direction to avoid the pain. Just today, I had someone ask me, ‘Why am I walking like I’m old’. I said, ‘You don’t look like you are walking old, you look like you are walking to avoid pain.’ It just so happens, that older people tend to deal with more pain so certain postures and gaits look ‘old’ to us.
If you have had chronic back pain and the x-rays and mri’s reveal a scoliosis, it may be time to consider doing something about it. Exercise has become a proven method for reducing curves and the accompanying pain and discomfort. [read: bracing and surgery may not be necessary.] For a look at several studies related to the reduction of curves using exercise, visit www.OsteoPilates.com. See the blog page.
The problem with using exercise to lessen the curve and pain of scoliosis is that it can be tough to do on your own, until now. Scolio-Pilates, by yours truly, is being released late February 2011; a short 8 years after my first book, OsteoPilates. In any case, the book takes the complicated task of elongating, de-rotating, and aligning the scoliotic spine and makes it a step-by-step process easy to follow by the professional and the client alike.
For more information about correcting your scoliosis with exercise, please feel free to contact us or visit our website for more information. Good luck! 661.260.1609