Date Published: Monday February 20th, 2023
Written By: Ryan Brunelle
When someone is first diagnosed with Scoliosis, their Doctor or whatever health care professional they are currently seeing and seeking advice from at the time is likely going to tell them one of two things, that their curve is mild or that their curve is severe and needs a second opinion. Majority of Scoliosis patients are misdiagnosed regarding their own Scoliosis.
If someone is diagnosed with Scoliosis and they are told their curve is mild, they will likely not be prescribed the necessary treatments regarding how they should go about their Scoliosis long term. If someone is diagnosed with Scoliosis and they are told their curve is severe, they are likely going to be told they have no other option but to have a spinal fusion. At the end of the day, a Scoliosis patients cobb angle and age of diagnosis matters most when being diagnosed to see what potential you have at preventing further progression or maybe even dropping your cobb angle.
SIDE NOTE...It is important to note in the growing stages, once your curve hits 10+ degrees, that you are monitoring your Scoliosis until you are finished growing before assessing your long term plan on how you should go about preventing further progression over the course of your lifetime.
For this SPA Blog post, I will be answering the following 3 Questions based off my experiences that I have most often encountered about Scoliosis that could use some clearing up. It is without question that Scoliosis can definitely come with a lot of twists & turns. Depending on your cobb angle, body rotation and commitment to learning how you can go about dealing with your Scoliosis, there is no limit to knowledge and treatment options you can learn that will only benefit you long term with reducing the risks of experiencing any Scoliosis related symptoms and preventing further progression of your Scoliosis. Discussed in greater detail below, are the 3 Most Common Questions I have been asked about Scoliosis most often.
1) If you are a Scoliosis Patient, will you get prescribed a brace when you are done growing? Do you have to wear this brace for the rest of your life?
It is important to note that the brace is specifically prescribed to assist on preventing further progression of Scoliosis. However, depending on the severity of your curve, you may have to wear the brace on and off long term.
Based off my experience wearing a brace while being done growing, I was prescribed a brace when I was dealing with several symptoms on top of a breathing restriction which is a very rare symptom to experience. Therefore, when I was told I would have to wear a brace for 20 hours/day for a year, I was totally okay with this action at play and sacrificing everything to get me out of this suffering situation.
A year later from being prescribed a brace, all my symptoms (Including my breathing restriction) improved and I had the amount of hours/day dropped from 20 hours/day to 12 hours/day. The brace for surely played a valuable role in my recovery, however, wearing the brace 24/7 for the rest of your life is unrealistic and not necessary.
2) Will consistently performing "Scoliosis Related" Exercises on a regular basis help prevent further progression or potentially drop your Scoliosis curve?
"YES" Performing "Scoliosis Related" Exercises on a regular basis "CAN" help prevent further progression and even potentially drop your Scoliosis curve. Ever since I started performing "Scoliosis Related" Exercises, I have halted progression of my curve and have even seen a reduction in my cobb angle. I am also more in alignment and not slightly leaning over to the right like I was before.
There are around 20 "Scoliosis Related" Exercises that I engage upon to continue halting progression and building up the muscle on my left lower side of my back that was heavily sucked in due to my body rotation. Each exercise does not have to be performed everyday, however, in my early days when I first started this Therapy Routine, I performed all exercises everyday for the first 6 months.
To see positive results, it is necessary to perform these exercises on a regular basis. My personally developed Therapy Routine in the prime days of my suffering state, usually lasted between 2-3 hours/day. It is also important you are performing these exercises correctly, otherwise that will affect your chances at seeing positive results. The visuals provided with this question is an insight to a few exercises I perform to prevent further progression of my Scoliosis. For those who might be interested in learning more information about these Scoliosis Related Exercises, definitely don't hesitate to check out Leaside Family Chiropractic & Scoliosis Center.
3) How did your breathing restriction develop? Why is this symptom you experience such a rare case for majority of Scoliosis Patients given the fact you do not have severe Scoliosis?
It is obviously hard to diagnosis how my breathing restriction initially developed and whether it is my type of curve, my body rotation or just the luck of the draw that played a role into my breathing restriction changing my life forever. One thing I can recall over the course of my lifetime, is that I never practiced good posture, which definitely did not help with already having Scoliosis.
This symptom in relation to Scoliosis is such a rare symptom to experience because to date I still have not met or heard of anyone else who has dealt with a breathing restriction (especially near the severity) like mine. Now, that is not to say somebody has never experienced what I have gone through, however, the way everything started heading south for me so fast is definitely a rare case for majority of Scoliosis Warriors not having to experience.
Since I never officially got diagnosed that my breathing restriction was in relation to my Scoliosis until it started to improve once I started seeking Therapy and Chiropractic Treatment, I ended up diagnosing myself. I strongly believe that due to my body rotation and curve being located in the lower thoracic and lumbar region of my spine, my diaphragm likely got shifted out of place. Which in turn, created a blockage for air flow down the left lower side of my back. Therefore, this would not allow me to achieve full lung expansion and take a deep breath whenever I wanted to anymore...Now is any of that actually true??? It will always be a mystery behind how this happened, however, I a well on my way to turning the Impossible 2 Possible by partially curing my breathing restriction and halting progression of my Scoliosis..
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Scoliosis Terminology Further Explained
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What are your thoughts on the Common Questions I have been receiving? Do you have any Questions about the Brace Option, the Exercises or any in relation to Scoliosis in General? Let me Know in the Comment Section Below ⤵️
NEXT SPA BLOG POST: Monday March 6th, 2023
