Prevention Is Key, Improvement is Possible
It is no secreat that scoliosis and poor posture go hand in hand. Although the reasons for each might be different, chiropractors are a great non-invasive treatment option to correct both of them. Depending on the cause and severity of the problem, chiropractic care might be able to resolve it without surgery.
What Is Scoliosis
Everyone has heard the word scoliosis. The majority of people are tested for it early on in life. Some people are diagnosed with severe forms and get surgeries, while others are told to wait till it gets bad enough so they need surgery.
For the few that have not heard ther term before, scoliosis describes any abnormal curvature of the spine. These are any sideways curves of the spine that are more than 15 degrees. These are different than our natural lordotic and kyphotic curvatures.
Some people have one curve scoliosis, while some other might have more.
What Causes Scoliosis
As chiropractors’ see two causes of scoliosis.
Structural Scoliosis: A defect in the architecture of the spine causes this type of scoliosis. In some cases, they are persent at birth, due to injury, infection, tumors, metabolic diseases, connective tissue disease and sometimes due to unknown origin. Depending on the underlying cause of the scoliosis, these patients can find chiropractic care helpful at relieving their pain and overall dyscomfort.
Functional or Compensatory Scoliosis: This is when a curvature in the spine develops as a compensation to a problem in a different area, usually pain, muscle spasms, or joint restrictions. There is no arcitectural defect in the vertebrae, and usually minimal or no rotational component is present. With this type of scoliosis, the curvature might correct itself when bending sideways. Chiropractic care can significatly help with cases such as these. Not only relieving the symptoms but also correcting the cause of the curvature.
What Age Do You Get Scoliosis
No matter the age, scoliosis is concerning.
It is more concerning in younger individuals because they haven’t reached skeletal maturity and there is a high chance there will be a progression of the curvature.
As mentioned earlier, scoliosis describes any curvature that is 15 degrees or more. You can find these anywhere in the spine. However, the thoracic and lumbar areas are the ones where its predominantly found.
In young children, we don’t yeat understand the causes of scoliosis. These types are diagnosed with “idiopathic” scoliosis. Although less common, scoliosis can happen in the elder population due to degenerative changes in the spine.
The involvement of the cerebellum in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis has gained more publicity over the last decade. According to Shi and colleagues (2013), “Because of the fact that posterior cerebellum and flocculonodular lobe have extensive afferent and efferent connections with vestibular nuclei, the function and morphology of the cerebellum should be involved in AIS study.”.
What this means is that by affecting the cerebellum and vestibular nuclei, we are able to have an effect on adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. That is exactly what our hosue call services do.
REFERENCES
Weiss, H. R., & Goodall, D. (2008). The treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) according to present evidence. A systematic review. European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine, 44(2), 177.
Poor Posture
As mentioned above, chiropractors are great for treating scoliosis, especially if they are the functional type.
But talking about scoliosis without bringing poor posture into the conversation, is like having a peanut butter-jelly sandwitch without the jelly. That’s because poor postures can lead to curvatures, that eventually develop into scoliosis.
Chiropractic is a great way to treat poor posture. The reason being, as chiropractors we evaluate the body as a whole and not just segments of it. This allows us to find imbalances in one area of the body that cause symptoms in a different area.
Why Do You Need Good Posture?
Our posture says a lot about ourselves. It’s linked to everything we do.
One way to demonstrate this is through emotions. Think about your posture when you are happy. You are standing up tall with good biomechanics and a smile on your face. But when you’re sad or upset, the head goes down, shoulders are rounded and everything is a little cloudy, regardless of what the weather is like.
Good posture allows the body to work biomecanically correct. That means, better muscle coordination, improved performance, less injuries, faster recovery, more confidence, and more paly time.
What Happens If I Don’t Fix My Posture?
Not a lot of things in our bodies are a one-way street. We just saw how emotions can alter posture, but we also know that posture can alter emotions in exactly the same way. Poor posture leads to chronic pain and stiffness. Prolonged pain and stiffness lead to an altered mental state of aggression, depression, and others.
On the physical side of things, poor posture leads to muscle imbalances, increaser wear and tear on joints, ligaments and tendons, which ultimately leads to overuse injuries, compensations and degeneration.
We don’t just correct your posture.
At PEAKiropractic, we help you improve your life by improving your posture and imbalances. Learn more about us.