Scoliosis
What is Scoliosis?
We all have curves in our spines, but scoliosis causes the spine to curve in the wrong direction. It causes sideways curves, and those are different from the spine’s normal curves. The angle of the curve may be small, large or somewhere in between. If you looked at your spine from the side, you’d see it curves out at your neck (cervical spine), in at your mid-back (thoracic spine), and out again at your low back (lumbar spine). Your back is supposed to curve that way.
However, if you looked at your spine from behind, you shouldn’t see any curves. When there are sideways curves in the spine from the rearview, that’s scoliosis. The curves can look like an “S” or a “C.” It often appears in children. In most cases, treatment is not needed, as the curve corrects itself with growth. However, based on the degree of curvature and the age of the child, a combination of bracing and physical therapy is often recommended.
40+ CONVENIENT LOCATIONS
GOALS & STRATEGIES
for treating scoliosis
eliminate
pain
self care & preventative tools
improved
mobility & flexibility
proper
alignment
increased
strength & endurance
return to
normalcy & function
Start Your
journey to health Today
COMMON SYMPTOMS
of scoliosis
Uneven shoulders
- One shoulder blade that appears more prominent than the other
Uneven waist
- One hip higher than the other or one hip is more prominent than the other
lean to one side
- The ribcage is not symmetrical – the ribs may be at different heights
off centered head
- The individual may lean to one side
TREATMENT PLAN
for scoliosis
We treat the individual…not just the pain or dysfunction. Your physical therapy treatment may include:
Personalized Evaluation
& Treatment Plan
customized therapeutic
exercise program
hands-on
manual therapy
biofeedback
techniques
soft tissue mobilization
& myofascial release
joint
mobilization
relaxation
techniques
biomechanical & functional retraining & education
learn more about
scoliosis
Most patients see visible improvement in the degree of their spine curvature after completing a Schroth program. The length of the program may vary, but typically includes between five and 20 sessions. Traditionally, the sessions were several hours long and were set in a tight daily schedule. Today, Schorth programs are usually less intense and include shorter sessions spread over a longer period. At HealthQuest Physical Therapy, our sessions typically last from 45 minutes to an hour. The length and frequency largely depend on the patient’s tolerance and the extent of the scoliosis.