No exercise or activity should be attempted before it's cleared by a patient's treatment provider, and activity restrictions are based on a number of factors that vary from patient to patient. It's important for people with scoliosis to stay active, but it's also important that a healthy activity level involves exercise that won't strain the spine or exacerbate the condition's effects.
There are a number of exercises that are deemed safe and helpful for scoliosis, and there are also exercises deemed unsafe or are in need of modifications. When it comes to running with scoliosis, sprinting and short distance running are better than long distance because they involve less compression.
Before getting to the specifics of running with scoliosis, let's explore why people with scoliosis have to be mindful of certain activities and exercises.
Being diagnosed with scoliosis doesn't mean a life of limitations, and in many cases, it's highly treatable.
The development of an unnatural sideways-bending and rotating spinal curve needs to be taken seriously, and cultivating a healthy activity level that involves staying active without straining the spine or interfering with treatment is also important.
A lot of exercise and activities are based on symmetrical movement, and as an asymmetrical condition, scoliosis makes the spine and body vulnerable to the effects of uneven forces.
Scoliosis is progressive; its nature is to become more severe over time, ranging from mild scoliosis to moderate and severe scoliosis.
As a progressive condition, scoliosis treatment needs to be proactive; it needs to work towards over-correction to counteract the condition's progressive nature, particularly in children during periods of rapid growth.
We don't always know what causes scoliosis to develop, but we know it's growth that makes it advance, we know how to treat it effectively, and we know how to determine which activities are safe and which are unsafe for p[people with scoliosis.
In some cases, scoliosis treatment can involve activity restrictions, but each case is unique.
In general, because scoliosis is a compressive condition once growth stops, activities and exercise that introduce more compression to the spine are considered unsafe.
In addition, as the spine is unnaturally curved and bent, it's weaker and more vulnerable to injury so certain activities need to be approached with caution and/or modified.
Exercises that involve hyperextending the thoracic spine are generally not recommended for people with scoliosis as it can increase the condition's rotational component.
As scoliosis is an asymmetrical condition that disrupts the body's overall symmetry and alignment, sports and activities that don't engage the spine's surrounding muscles evenly should also be avoided.
An effect of scoliosis is muscular imbalance, so any activity that overuses one side of the body can exacerbate this effect and contribute to uneven wear and tear on the spine.
The spine needs to be surrounded by strong and balanced muscles for support and stability, and this is a focus of nonsurgical scoliosis treatment, and also why exercise and staying active, when appropriate and safe, can help people with scoliosis.
So what about running with scoliosis?
Activities that involve exposing the spine to repeated shock from impact and compressive force can be unsafe for people with scoliosis.
During treatment, activity restrictions need to be followed carefully, and for people with severe scoliosis, long distance running can be deemed unsafe, mainly due to the compression that occurs each time a foot hits the ground and sends the impact up the legs, through the pelvis, and into the spine.
But the positives of running with scoliosis are that it can help patients maintain a healthy weight so the spine isn't strained, spinal flexibility and strength, and core strength.
Running also works the body's muscles symmetrically so can help counteract the development of a muscular imbalance: a common effect of scoliosis.
A muscular imbalance can develop as the spine's unnatural bend is pulling its surrounding muscles in opposite directions.
So running is an activity that can be deemed safe for some, unsafe for others, or safe with modifications.
Proper running technique involves holding the spine in a straight and neutral position so it can evenly absorb and disrupt mechanical stress caused by movement and impact with the ground below.
Being mindful of body position and the position of the spine during running can help minimize the risks and maximize the potential benefits.
Keeping the head aligned with the spine by looking straight ahead protects the health of the cervical spine (neck). Posture is important, and if the position of the head shifts forward, it increases the weight of the head on the neck.
As the cervical spine is the first spinal section, its healthy position is important as it can affect the forces being exerted on the spinal sections below; the spinal sections have to work together to maintain spinal health and function.
If a single section is misaligned, the effects can be felt throughout the entire spine, particularly in cases of thoracic scoliosis that involve the middle/upper back.
The arms should be held loosely and aligned with the hips, and landing midfoot instead of with the toes or heels helps distribute the stress from impact up the center of the foot, leg, and body, for even absorption.
There are a number of exercises that are not only deemed safe for scoliosis, but are an important part of the treatment process.
There was a time when it was thought exercise didn't have a place in scoliosis treatment, but we have since learned exercise that's scoliosis-specific and combined with other types of treatment can have corrective potential.
Here at the CLEAR Scoliosis Institute, treatment plans are proactive and include scoliosis-specific physical therapy and exercise recommendations.
Each case of scoliosis involves comprehensive assessment so we can provide our patients with guidance on whether or not running is safe for a particular condition severity and curve type.
Chiropractic care works towards improving the spine's structural position, and physical therapy and scoliosis-specific exercise can help by strengthening the spine's surrounding muscles for more support and addressing any muscle imbalance for more stability.
In fact, the power of exercise in scoliosis treatment led to the development of entire exercise-based approaches to treatment such as SEAS (Scientific Exercise Approach to Scoliosis) and the Schroth method.
A focus of scoliosis-specific exercise is to teach postural awareness through the use of Mirror Image exercise that can teach patients the importance of body position during movement and daily activities.
So when it comes to exercise and scoliosis treatment, if approved by a patient's treatment provider, it can have a number of benefits including pain management. The spine becomes more rigid as scoliosis advances, and a stiff spine can be painful.
Exercise that helps maintain spinal flexibility has the potential to make the spine more responsive to treatment and help reduce pain.
While some cases of scoliosis will involve activity restrictions that can involve long distance running, those who are permitted to run can experience the potential benefits of improving posture, spinal flexibility, and core strength.
Wearing proper running shoes with proper support can also affect running posture, and if there is a leg length discrepancy present, which can accompany scoliosis, this needs to be addressed to maintain an economical gait and stride.
Being mindful of body position and how the head is held during running is important; it can mean the spine is aligned and in a neutral position and that the cervical spine is aligned with the spinal sections below.
Holding the arms and hands at hip level helps with energy conservation. Holding the arms and hands higher takes energy to maintain.
A common recommendation for runners who are diagnosed with scoliosis is to adjust the distance. Long distance introduces more repeated jarring impact, so sprints and short distance running are considered safer.
Scoliosis can affect the body in different ways, and treatment plans need to be crafted around variables such as patient age, condition type, curve type, severity, curvature location, and experienced symptoms.
Activity restrictions and recommendations are equally individualized, and a patient's scoliosis treatment provider can provide guidance on the types of activities that are appropriate for each individual condition, including running.
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