The spine has many moving parts that work together to facilitate its optimal strength and function, including its intervertebral discs and surrounding muscles. A healthy spine will have its natural curves in place, its discs will be healthy, and its surrounding muscles will be strong and balanced. Back pain can be caused by structural issues within the spine,...
Scoliosis is a spinal condition, but its effects aren't isolated to the spine; scoliosis can also affect the spine's surrounding muscles, nerves, and the entire body. As a progressive condition, it's important to understand that symptoms can increase over time. Scoliosis introduces a lot of uneven forces to the spine and body. Particularly common with thoracic...
Not all scoliosis patients will experience pain, but as a progressive condition, the severity and effects of scoliosis can change over time. The potential benefits of massage for scoliosis patients are limited to short-term pain relief, but when chiropractic adjustments are scoliosis-specific and combined with additional nonsurgical treatment modalities, long-term...
Back pain is the main complaint bringing patients in to see a chiropractor. The type of chiropractic treatment, and its frequency, will depend on the issue and goal of care. For general back pain, general chiropractic care may help, but for spinal conditions like scoliosis, a scoliosis-specific chiropractor is necessary. Chiropractors are healthcare professionals...
The brain and spinal cord make up the central nervous system: a vast communication network that facilitates brain-body communication, and the peripheral nervous system is divided into the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system. The health of the nerves within these systems can affect brain-body communication, movement, sensation, walking, breathing,...
Scoliosis severity ranges widely from mild scoliosis to moderate scoliosis and severe cases. Scoliosis severity is largely determined by the size of the unnatural spinal curvature, but there are additional factors that shape the type of symptoms a patient will experience. Scoliosis is a progressive condition, so its nature is to get worse over time, but it can be...
Scoliosis causes the spine to bend unnaturally to the side and rotate, but it's not considered a life-threatening condition. There are no treatment guarantees, but many cases of scoliosis respond well to a combination of nonsurgical treatment options, and early detection and intervention are associated with successful treatment outcomes. Scoliosis is a spinal...
While scoliosis surgery was the dominant treatment option for many years, what you need to know is that many cases of scoliosis don't need surgical treatment. Scoliosis surgery is a type of spinal fusion, and while it can straighten a bent spine, it's an invasive procedure that can also alter the spine's long-term strength and function. Scoliosis surgery success...
Part of a patient's initial assessment and diagnosis involves further classifying conditions based on a number of key variables, one of which is type. When the underlying cause of scoliosis is known, it's the focus of treatment, and the accuracy of a patient's initial assessment and diagnosis shapes treatment outcome. There is more than one type of scoliosis, and...
For people with scoliosis, leading a spine-friendly lifestyle is important, and this includes a healthy activity level and diet. Staying active and eating healthy foods alone can't correct scoliosis, but it can help create an internal environment that's more conducive to healing. Scoliosis causes the spine to bend and rotate unnaturally, and while diet alone can't...
The following exercises can help facilitate a healthy and functional spine, but it's important to understand that any singular exercise or exercise program has to be approved by a patient's treatment provider, and for any type of corrective potential, it has to be fully customized to impact scoliosis. Exercises for scoliosis can help maintain spinal flexibility,...
Scoliosis is most frequently diagnosed in children, but it also affects adults. In fact, the actual rate of scoliosis increases among the aging population, and this is due to the development of degenerative scoliosis. The two main types of scoliosis to affect adults are idiopathic scoliosis and degenerative scoliosis. Scoliosis is progressive, so treatment...