Posturally! Your Online Creative Body Therapist

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

I am pleased to hear that Michelle Obama is taking on childhood obesity as an initiative. I was a heavy kid. As an adult, this is an ongoing challenge.

Recently, I learned (in my dance class) that carrying weight alters body posture in a way that shuts down my desire to be active. It also de-shapes the hip and backside area – an effect I do not need. The extra weight, especially in my belly, has me leaning forward.

Ideal alignment is about balancing through the bones. In a well-aligned body, weight is transferred from top to bottom through the center of the joints. (It’s a gravity thing.) This engages posture muscles such as the hamstrings (back of leg). I feel ready for action, and movement is delicious.

But by leaning forward, I am no longer balancing my weight through the bones. Instead I arch my back (which tightens the muscles) and my hips tighten up. I get stuck at the pelvis, but its not fun. No, this is movement stoppage! Sadly, I lose track of the feeling of my body, and I begin to identify with being overweight.

I found that key is to gently lean back. At first it feels weird because habit has me used to the forward position. But the idea is to get to a place where the pelvis drops down easily, releasing unnecessary muscle tension as it does. I practice this every day now, and it’s freeing.

If you are going to be proactive about getting and staying comfortable, you most likely need an expert to help you. A workplace study, published in the October 2009 Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, and involving about 1500 people, found that just buying an ergonomic desk set up isn’t enough to address the posture related pain due to work positions.

Non-Neutral Work Positions can Cause Muscle Tension and Pain.

Work related pain often comes from holding yourself in what ergonomists call non-neutral positions. These positions are ones in which the joints are not centered, i.e., the two bones that make up a joint are not aligned with one another. The fit just isn’t right. This reduces how much support you can get for the position you are in. Non-neutral positions create a tremendous amount of tension (and pain!) in the body, because the muscles become like bones in order to scaffold the joint’s position.

After 18 months, improvement was seen in those who not only received new desks and chairs, but also received the benefit of professional help in setting them up. These workers had less muscuolskeletal pain and less eyestrain than the comparison group. Results from this study apply only to workers who began the study with pain. Those who started pain free didn’t seem to benefit from the ergonomic perks provided by the study.

“Just providing new office furniture and written instructions is not sufficient to achieve proper accommodation,” the authors conclude. “Good office equipment is a poor substitute for good working positions.”

Sources:
Laestadius, Jasminka Goldoni; Ye, Jian; Cai, Xiaodong; Ross, Sandra; Dimberg, Lennart; Klekner, Meg.
The Proactive Approach-Is It Worthwhile? A Prospective Controlled Ergonomic Intervention Study in Office Workers. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 51(10):1116-1124, October 2009. Date Accessed. Jan 12 10. doi: 10.1097/JOM.0b013e3181bae19d.

Newswise. Press Release. The Proactive Approach-Is It Worthwhile? A Prospective Controlled Ergonomic Intervention Study in Office Workers. Oct 21 09. Date Accessed. Jan 12 10. http://newswise.com/articles/proactive-approach-to-ergonomics-reduces-pain-in-office-workers.