Physical therapy for spine: Scoliosis managment

When a person’s spine is not straight but rather curved from one side to the other, that person is considered to be suffering from a certain condition called scoliosis. This condition is not a simple one and it is a three-dimensional deformity where the spine looks like a letter “S” or “C” when either looked on an x-ray or from the back. The curve can be either single or a double one.

Scoliosis – condition of the spine

The experts have come up with three classes of this condition of the spine. The first class is called congenital and it occurs due to certain vertebral abnormalities which appear right after a person is born. However, this type of scoliosis is not seen often. The second class is named idiopathic and the actual cause which leads to this condition remains unknown even today. This scoliosis type occurs most often and it is seen in almost 80% of all patients who are diagnosed with scoliosis. Idiopathic scoliosis is further classified according to the age of the patient when the condition occurred. Due to that fact the subclasses are infantile, which occurs between the periods from birth to three years of age, juvenile , which is seen in patients aged between three and ten years, and adolescent one. Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis occurs in patients who are older than 10 years of age. The last class of scoliosis is medically named neuromuscular. This condition develops as a secondary symptom of some other condition. In a majority of patients these other conditions are spina bifida, cerebral palsy, spinal muscular atrophy and physical trauma. It can also develop due to muscular weakness.

Apart from these three classes, degenerative scoliosis is possible as well. However, this type is seen mainly in people of old age and it is developed because of the degeneration of the spine which happens normally due to the process of aging.

According to the data, there are more than 7 million people suffering from scoliosis in the United States.

The condition of scoliosis is more often seen in children and about 5 children out of 1,000 will require some medical treatment due to the type of scoliosis they have developed.

Not every part of the spine can be affected and thoracic and thoracolumbar parts of the spine are the ones that are affected in a majority of patients. Not all patients who are diagnosed with scoliosis require surgery or some medical treatment. In some situations the curves are not that severe and the patient experiences no symptoms what so ever. However, in certain situations surgery and/or the use of braces is essential.

Physical Therapy for Scoliosis

Not every expert agrees that alternative methods like physical therapy and chiropractic are able to help those diagnosed with scoliosis. The fact is that the majority of medical care providers nowadays believe that these methods are unable to aid a person with scoliosis. However, such opinion was not popular a couple of years ago. Lots of books and programs on the subject of homeopathic methods exist and they are thought to help a person cure the condition or at least prevent it from becoming more severe. Some of these homeopathic methods are physical therapy, yoga and trigger point therapy. Even though any of these methods are unable to cure the condition, all of them are able to lessen the curve so much that the patient no longer needs to undergo surgery.

A certain method which is noninvasive and physiotherapeutic is called the Schroth method and it has been in use in Europe since the 1920. The person who came up with this method, which is nowadays used in clinics all over Germany, Spain, England and North America, suffered from scoliosis as well. The Schroth method is based on the concept of scoliosis which occurred due to a complex of muscular asymmetries. The method focuses on making these muscles stronger in order to at least partially correct them with a set of specially targeted exercises. The muscles of the back are the ones that are targeted most often. There is no set time for the duration of this program but the results are a lot better as the method is used for a longer period of time. Scoliosis is effectively reversed in 10% of patients who follow the program for a period of up to six weeks. The rate is higher than 30% in those who follow the program longer than a year. Before a patient can start the treatment, certain factors are taken into consideration like a degree of the curative, maturity of the patient and the individual curve pattern.

People diagnosed with scoliosis will not have a problem getting in touch with a profession who will help him or her with physical therapy. It is essential that the therapist has a license. Chiropractics are a good option as well.