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Scoliosis is an abnormal side to side curve in the spine.

Scoliosis is a side-to-side curve in the spine. When you look at the back, you can see evidence of an S shape, or a C shape. (There are different types.) The giveaways are: One shoulder or hip higher than the other and/or one rib that looks like a hump.

Most scoliosis is idiopathic, meaning they don’t know what causes it. The other 2 types are neuromuscular (caused by a disease such as polio) and congenital (you were born with it). You can see congenital scoliosis earlier than the idiopathic type. If your baby has congenital scoliosis, a new technique called scoliosis stapling may be worth looking into. But it’s reserved for very young children.

Scoliosis curves can range from mild (about 10-12 degrees), to so severe that it interrupts the lungs and heart. If a child’s curve grows rapidly or if the curve is over 50 degrees, it may be time for surgery. Of course, a licensed MD specializing in spine will be the best person to help you decide, as they have in depth knowledge on these things. I wouldn’t trust my child’s scoliosis to a chiropractor. Don’t get me wrong, chiropractors have their place – I go to one, and I couldn’t be happier with the results, but with a severe scoliosis, chiropractic treatment just hasn’t proven itself.

Most people who have scoliosis have the mild type. I have the mild type. I’ve had really good luck with exercises. Other than the Scroth Method, I am not aware of anything in the clinical realm that has the potential to actually reverse the curve and help the spine approach straight. But when the spine deforms like it does with a scoliosis, it often creates a situation where muscles on one side get super tight, and muscles on the other side get overstretched and weak. So for me, doing specialized exercises that target the curves has really helped to establish balance through my body. More specifics in future posts.

Source:
Scoliosis Research Foundation. Scoliosis Media Guide. Accessed Feb 2010. http://sites.google.com/site/wwwscoliosisorgawareness/scoliosis-media-community-guide

How often does your upper back or your mid back hurt? If you’re like me and probably millions of your fellow humans, the answer is something along the lines of “often”. Mid and upper back pain is one of those things that seems to elude the “people in the know”, ie medical researchers and conventional physicians. They’ve done some studies on it but not nearly as many as for neck pain or lower back pain. Yet, one of the few things they do know about thoracic spine pain is that it’s about as common as lower back pain, which affects 80% of people at some point in their lives. It is also just as troubling.

My take on this dearth of information on upper-mid back pain is that it will be a while before there will be evidence based treatments for thoracic spine pain. So we non-medical people are left to our own devices to deal with it.

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