Treatments for my scoliosis case?!
Question: About a few months ago, I found out that I had scoliosis (thanks to my doctors notice, and a few x-rays). The degrees were in the 30s, and I'm taking the brace. I don't have pain in my back, but my mom always says that my back looked swollen when she looked at it. I also barely wear the brace, though I know I should.
Out of coincidence, I found out that the assistant principal at my school, his son, has scoliosis, but he takes massage therapy instead of wearing the brace, and that helps him just fine.
I was wondering, is there any alternatives for helping out with scoliosis? I know I'm going to have to start wearing the brace anyways, but I wanted to know any alternative ideas to work with.
Answers: About a few months ago, I found out that I had scoliosis (thanks to my doctors notice, and a few x-rays). The degrees were in the 30s, and I'm taking the brace. I don't have pain in my back, but my mom always says that my back looked swollen when she looked at it. I also barely wear the brace, though I know I should.
Out of coincidence, I found out that the assistant principal at my school, his son, has scoliosis, but he takes massage therapy instead of wearing the brace, and that helps him just fine.
I was wondering, is there any alternatives for helping out with scoliosis? I know I'm going to have to start wearing the brace anyways, but I wanted to know any alternative ideas to work with.
Scoliosis is completely different for each person. You *cannot* assume that whatever works for one person will work for another.
First, a couple of definitions:
See http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.... which says:
"Nonstructural scoliosis involves a temporary change of spinal curvature. This is caused by an underlying condition such as a difference in leg length, muscle spasms, or inflammatory conditions, (e.g. appendicitis), which may produce muscle spasm. Functional scoliosis is treated by correcting the underlying problem. The spine itself needs no treatment.
Functional scoliosis is also called nonstructural scoliosis as opposed to structural scoliosis in which there is a fixed curve of the bones of the spine (the vertebrae)."
Because your doctor is having you wear a brace, I'm assuming that you have structural scoliosis.
Chiropractors, message therapists, acupuncturists, etc., can't fix structural scoliosis. These people adjust the soft, connective tissues and that may (or may not, you can't tell ahead of time) make you feel better, but remember, scoliosis is not a connective tissue disease. Your spine is growing curved.
Let's discuss your brace.
The purpose of a brace isn't to fix the curve but rather to keep your curve from getting bigger. You are putting the most stress on your back, and therefore on your curve, during the day when you're upright and gravity is affecting you the most.
Look at it this way. You're going to have the brace for only a couple of years. If you're not going to wear the brace and your back gets worse, you're going to be affected for the rest of your life (anything from back pains to needing surgery to..., depending on how bad your curve gets.). I'm not saying that your curve will increase, but that it certainly could.
One other thing of interest is that since your curve is already in the 30's, it will most likely slowly increase even after you've stopped growing, as mine did. This makes it even more important to wear the brace now.