There are a number of factors considered when assessing a patient's scoliosis, and for young athletes with scoliosis, an early concern is how the condition affects participation in certain sports. Exercise is not only good for scoliosis patients, it can increase treatment efficacy, but sports need to be cleared by a patient's treatment provider.
Sports participation offers a number of mental and physical health benefits, and while activity recommendations and restrictions vary from one scoliosis patient to the next, many can play soccer safely, and key tips can help.
Playing any sport involves risks, including soccer, but guidance from a scoliosis medical professional can help patients determine if the potential benefits outweigh the risks.
Whether patients want to start playing soccer, or continue playing soccer, following a diagnosis, guidance is needed, and a timely assessment can help.
It's important for everyone to stay active, but for scoliosis patients, it can offer more than general mental and physical health benefits. Regular and consistent exercise, when approved by a scoliosis patient's treatment provider, and modified when necessary, may increase treatment efficacy and offer symptom relief.
Potential soccer benefits for scoliosis patients include improvements to muscle strength, balance, overall flexibility, and mental health.
Soccer supports strong and balanced core and back muscles. Scoliosis patients, in particular, benefit from core strengthening because stronger muscles mean more support for the spine, and a spine that's well-supported is more stable.
Strong core muscles facilitate healthy posture. It takes strength to maintain the body's straight, neutral, and upright position. Postural deviation is a primary effect of childhood scoliosis, and regardless of patient age, postural awareness and restoration is beneficial.
Muscle weakness may contribute to the onset of scoliosis, and/or scoliosis progression; core and back muscle strengthening and postural correction are at the heart of nonsurgical treatment.
Sports, like soccer, that build core strength may improve posture and the spine's stability, and can also relieve muscle tension and strain.
Because scoliosis causes the spine to curve unnaturally to the side and rotate, it's asymmetrical, and many of its symptoms involve disruptions to the body's overall symmetry and alignment.
A muscular imbalance, for example, can be a common effect of scoliosis caused by the spine's unnatural position pulling its surrounding muscles in opposing directions. An imbalance develops if muscles on one side of the spine are straining to support the spine, becoming tight and sore, while muscles on the opposite side are becoming stretched and weak due to lack of use.
A muscle imbalance can also contribute to the onset of scoliosis and/or curve progression because the more out of balance the spine is, the more support and stability it needs, and a muscle imbalance can exacerbate the condition's asymmetrical effects.
Soccer mainly involves symmetrical muscle engagement that may reduce the uneven forces of scoliosis. Working towards a balanced spine by improving the strength and balance of its surrounding muscles helps improve the spine's overall stability.
In the context of scoliosis, flexibility doesn't just refer to a person's overall flexibility, but also the spine's range of motion.
The spine's natural design is based on movement, but only within a healthy certain range. Too much movement in the spine makes it unstable and can lead to injury.
Maintaining the body and spine's flexibility is also helpful for patients experiencing pain related to stiffness. Stiff strained muscles and a rigid spine can be painful, and because increasing rigidity is an effect of curve progression, sports like soccer may help counteract increasing stiffness in the body and spine.
Scoliosis affects all ages, but its most common type is adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.
Most adolescents are diagnosed around the start of puberty, and this is a stage that can be challenging for many young people, whether they have scoliosis or not.
Adolescents generally don't want to look or move differently. Young patients don't want to have to wear a brace to school. They want to fit in. They want to play their sports, spend time with friends, and have a typical adolescence.
Teenagers with scoliosis face a number of extra challenges that may make them more vulnerable to self-esteem and body issues, and because scoliosis progression is triggered by rapid growth, this age group is also the most at risk for rapid curve progression and increasing effects.
The main effects of childhood scoliosis are visual: postural changes including uneven shoulders, hips, and rib flaring. Changes to gait, balance, and coordination are also common and usually become more noticeable if curves are increasing.
The mental-health benefits of sports participation are well-proven, particularly for children, and given the added stress of being diagnosed with a progressive spinal condition that can cause postural and mobility changes, young scoliosis patients may have more potential gains from playing soccer.
Curve size makes a difference when it comes to what's safe and not safe to do with scoliosis, and this is why a scoliosis-specific assessment should be as thorough as possible, including guidance on exercise recommendations and restrictions.
Soccer is considered a low-impact sport, which is one of the reasons it's so often approved for scoliosis patients, but there is the risk of colliding with other players and sustaining minor collision injuries.
Jarring impact is not good for a scoliotic spine that's already strained so avoiding collisions helps minimize risks and avoid spinal compression.
Because a muscular imbalance is a common effect of scoliosis, this makes one side of the body stronger, and there is the potential for one side of the body to become more fatigued.
Scoliosis patients may also be more likely to experience post-game soreness from intense bursts of running and kicking due to the added strain the back and its surrounding muscles are under.
If soccer is causing increasing pain, it may be aggravating the spine, its surrounding muscles, or contributing to curve progression, so it should be stopped: re-assessment is needed.
The following player tips can help minimize the potential risks of playing soccer with scoliosis:
Educating patients on the nature of their spinal curvature is helpful when considering sports participation. Patients who understand their curve can be more involved in the treatment process and are more aware of how to protect their spine and minimize risks during activity.
While certain high impact sports and high intensity exercise place too much stress on the spine for some people with scoliosis, many scoliosis patients are cleared to play soccer. Most patients lead normal lives, and managing scoliosis with a proactive and customized treatment plan supports the continuation of most sports.
People with scoliosis may have some extra physical challenges when it comes to sports participation, but with guidance, unhealthy spinal curves can benefit from building core muscles, balancing muscles, increasing overall flexibility, improving posture and mental health.
Maintaining an active lifestyle supports patient involvement, motivation, and a healthy attitude, and patients with awareness around their curve type better understand their body's needs.
Here at the CLEAR Scoliosis Institute, patients benefit from comprehensive assessment so detailed treatment plans and activity recommendations are patient-centered and support a strong and balanced spine.
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