We at the Scoliosis SOS Clinic are huge advocates for scoliosis self-correction and treatment through exercise!
If you’re suffering because of your scoliosis, there are a lot of things you can do to relieve pain and prevent your spinal curve from worsening. One of these things is active self-correction (ASC), just one of the many treatment methods that make up our ScolioGold therapy programme.
Active self-correction is often referred to as the scientific exercise approach to scoliosis treatment. It involves a series of movements designed to stabilise the scoliosis curvature. Our ScolioGold therapists teach you how to actively self-correct by standing you in front of a mirror and showing you how you can physically unbend and de-rotate the curve in your spine.
Active Self-Correction
As much as we’d love to teach you how to actively correct your scoliosis with a few simple instructions, every spine is unique, and each patient needs to be taught how to correct their own curvature. See one of our patients actively self-correcting their scoliosis curvature in this video:
You can see how this patient’s spine moves into a much better position with a few simple, conscious movements. These movements are often called:
- Activation – ‘unlocks’ the curvature from its resting position
- Correction – encourages the spine to sit in a more healthy position
- Repetition – ‘locks’ the straighter spine in place (this involves retraining the postural control centre in the brain to accept the ‘fixed’ position)
Now that our patient knows how to get into this position, they will be able to actively correct their curvature over and over again, until it becomes a more natural sitting and standing position.
See more examples of scoliosis self-correction on our Instagram highlights:
See Our Patients Performing ASC >
Posture Awareness
Part of active self-correction is developing a better awareness of your posture. We’ve written numerous blogs about the effects of bad posture on your spine, and unfortunately, people with and without scoliosis fall foul of poor posture all the time. Whether you work in an office, play a musical instrument or make frequent long journeys, you’re often susceptible to slouching and (potentially) damaging your spine.
Scoliosis self-correction teaches you to be continually aware of your posture, actively moving and straightening to create a straighter and stronger spine. There are a whole host of postural exercises that you can do to help improve your spinal position – of course, you’ll need to practice these exercises regularly if you want to see a significant improvement. Most posture-correcting exercises can be done at home and without any equipment!
Posture-Improving Exercises >
If you’re interested in finding out more about our exercise-based scoliosis therapy, don’t hesitate to get in touch. You can call us on 0207 488 4428 or submit an enquiry here.
Whether you’re taking your child to see a GP or an orthopaedic specialist, you’re going to have a lot of questions about scoliosis and the available treatment options. In this blog post, we’ll talk you through a range of scoliosis questions that you may wish to ask your doctor.
If you’ve just been diagnosed with scoliosis, there are a number of questions you can ask your doctor to help you gauge whether they’re offering you the right treatment plan. It’s important to ascertain their knowledge and experience with this condition before you go any further.
Not every GP will have an extensive understanding of scoliosis, particularly if they’ve never dealt with a spinal curve like yours before. If that’s the case, the GP might not be able to offer you the responses to your questions that a scoliosis specialist could.
Questions to Ask Your GP
Always be respectful towards your doctor, even if you decide not to pursue treatment with them. Try not to get upset or angry if you don’t agree with their assessment of your condition.
- Have you ever come across a scoliosis case like mine before?
Every case of scoliosis is different, so it’s possible that your GP hasn’t treated a case of scoliosis like yours before. Doctors who’ve been working with scoliosis for many years may have patient testimonials and evidence to show that the treatment approach they’re suggesting works for cases like yours.
- Will the treatment you’re suggesting help me achieve the results I want?
Each scoliosis patient has different expectations. Some people are most concerned with their appearance while others want to improve their mobility or flexibility. The treatment option that will help you achieve your desired results might not be the one that your doctor is prescribing. For example, a scoliosis brace can help to prevent your scoliosis curvature from getting worse, but if your main concern is your appearance, you might not want to wear a scoliosis brace all the time.
- What can I do to improve my chances of success?
With more active approaches to treatment, you might be able to improve your results by following a particular regime or plan accurately, or by doing extra activities at home to improve the effectiveness of your treatment. That’s certainly the case with our exercise-based therapy programme, which should be continued at home once you’ve left the clinic.
- What are my other options if I decide not to try the treatment you’re recommending?
If you’re nearing the end of your consultation and you’re not happy with how it’s going, it’s completely natural to wonder what your other options are. If your doctor has no other types of treatment for you to choose from, this could be a red flag. Even if the doctor genuinely doesn’t have any other treatment options lined up for you, they should be able to refer you to another doctor who can provide additional support and advice.
Seeking Specialist Help
If you feel like you’ve exhausted your doctor’s knowledge and haven’t got the answer you wanted, it might be time to look elsewhere. Doctors are great, but when it comes to complex conditions like scoliosis, you could be better off speaking to a specialist.
Here at the Scoliosis SOS Clinic, we’ll invite you to attend an hour-long initial scoliosis assessment with one of our specialist consultants. We can even conduct your initial consultation over the phone or via Skype if you have photos and/or X-rays of your back already.
Before recommending a treatment path, we take 2 measurements of your back: one to assess the rotation or kyphosis/forward bend in your spine, and a second photographic scan of your spine that analyses your back shape and profile. Then we’ll summarise our diagnosis, explain our proposed treatment plan and give you an idea of therapy timescales, plus the type of results you can expect to achieve.
Even if you attend one of our consultations, you’ll be under no obligation to pursue treatment with us. We want you to be empowered to make a choice about your spinal treatment and ultimately do what’s best for you.
Learn More About Our Treatment Courses Book Your Initial Scoliosis Consultation
While scoliosis cannot truly be ‘cured’, there are a number of ways to treat the symptoms of this condition and reverse the progression of the Cobb angle. Scoliosis correction is always dependent on the severity of each case; for some patients, surgery may be the only option, but in most cases, non-surgical treatment methods can be highly effective.
In either case, the main aim of any scoliosis correction effort should be to improve the quality of life for the patient.
Scoliosis Correction Surgery
If the patient’s Cobb angle is greater than 40-50 degrees, surgery will likely be recommended. In especially severe cases, this may be the only way to stop the condition from worsening.
Spinal fusion surgery corrects scoliosis by anchoring the spine to a series of rods. These rods act as a splint, which holds the spine in place and reduces the angle of the problematic curve. Once this has been done, a bone graft (sometimes real, sometimes synthetic) is used to fuse it with the spine, hopefully preventing the curve from progressing any further.
If you want to learn more about the actual surgery process, you can read all about it here.
Scoliosis Correction Treatments
Although spinal fusion is generally a safe procedure with proven benefits, there are always risks associated with any surgical procedure. As a result, many scoliosis sufferers choose not to undergo surgery, and that’s why we offer a range of non-invasive treatments for scoliosis correction.
The ScolioGold Method
Our ScolioGold method is made up of a combination of well-established scoliosis treatments, including the Schroth method. These non-surgical techniques are scientifically proven, and used together, they ensure that each and every aspect of the patient’s condition is treated. Our personalised treatment programme can help reduce your Cobb angle, relieve pain and lessen the appearance of the curve, which can boost self-esteem and body image. In order to effectively improve scoliosis symptoms, we assess each individual case and create the treatment plan around the patient’s specific needs.
To learn more about the various treatments that make up the ScolioGold method, please click here.
We have successfully reduced our patient’s Cobb angles, which improves posture and overall quality of life. We do this without any invasive surgical procedures, so if you are worried about the risks of surgery for any reason, we are happy to help. To have a look at the results of our ScolioGold treatment, view our before and after pictures.
Here at Scoliosis SOS, we assess every patient’s condition and create a plan tailored to help improve their individual symptoms. To find out more about what we can do to help correct scoliosis, please contact us today.
