Scoliosis is an ailment that affects millions of children and adults. Despite its relative commonness, contemporary medicine has found no treatments with 100% effectiveness. Scoliosis is an abnormal curvature or rotation in the spine, and it can lead to a number of complications if unaddressed. Mainstream medicine does not guarantee to correct scoliosis and, because of this, many people have begun to seek alternative scoliosis treatments.
Causes of Scoliosis
Although it has seemingly existed since the beginning of time, the causes of scoliosis are generally unknown. The National Health Service states that for 80% of the cases there is no known cause. There are three types of scoliosis, and they are based on what age the patient is when they are diagnosed.
Infantile scoliosis is diagnosed from birth until the age of three; juvenile scoliosis is diagnosed from the ages of three to ten; and adolescent scoliosis is diagnosed from the age of ten until the growing process is complete. Of these forms, infantile scoliosis is the easiest to determine the cause. Infantile scoliosis may occur if there is a birth defect or if a neurological or muscular disease occurs like cerebral palsy or muscular dystrophy. Infantile scoliosis can also happen if the baby experiences an injury or an infection. Sometimes tumors may also trigger a curvature in the spine.
Symptoms
The symptoms of scoliosis vary depending on the severity of the condition. The symptoms are almost always physical, and with minor cases of scoliosis the symptoms can be almost nonexistent. Scoliosis can often be detected with the naked eye. One of the most common symptoms are uneven shoulders or waist.
A person with scoliosis may also have a shoulder blade or side of the rib cage that protrudes more than the other side, and they may also have an inability to stand straight. The head may also be an indicator.If it isn’t centered above the pelvis, scoliosis may be the cause.
These symptoms can cause physical strains on the body, and chronic back pain and problems are not uncommon.
Diagnosis
The diagnosis of scoliosis is generally straight forward and pain free. Children across America are often screened at school or by their family doctor or chiropractor. The screening includes an examination of the back/spine, shoulders, chest, pelvis and legs. If the doctor has trouble diagnosing scoliosis during the screening, an x-ray, MRI, or bone scan might be necessary.
After the x-ray, MRI, or bone scan is completed, the doctor will measure the curvature of the spine, and if there is a curve, an alternative scoliosis treatment method should begin right away so the curve cannot progress and create more problems for the patient.
Is there non-surgical treatment for scoliosis?
The standard ‘Medical Model’ is one of ‘wait and see’. What that means is that the physician, usually an orthopedic surgeon, will simply re-xray a scoliosis patient, starting from either juvenile, adolescent or adult curvatures. They’ll do this periodically, until curve reaches 25 degrees or greater. At that point a hard brace known as a ‘Boston Brace’ which is worn almost all the time can be prescribed. This can also have deleterious physical and psychological overtones for the patient, especially younger patients, and therefore compliance is a factor.
If continued progression is observed, surgical treatment for scoliosis is the traditional medical procedure. Whether the standard Harrington Rod is surgically implanted or the newer laser surgeries are performed, both are maximally invasive and results are spotty. Research states “the initial average loss of spinal correction post-surgery is 3.2 degrees in the first year and 6.5 degrees after two years with continued loss of 1.0 degrees per year throughout life”.[2]
The average pre-operative scoliosis curvature is 72 degrees, while the post-operative surgical treatment for scoliosis results in an unimpressive 44 degrees which then continues to deteriorate each year thereafter. Doctors Woggon and Lawrence concluded that 44 percent of scoliosis bracing attempts are considered failures because they do not cease the scoliosis development. [3] It is also known that upper middle class children wore the prescribed brace not more than 10% of the recommended time thereby negating any potential benefits. Scoliosis surgery also does nothing for the rib hump deformity.
Unsuccessful alternative non-medical scoliosis treatments include:
- stand-alone craniosacral treatments for scoliosis
- various alterations to shoes, including insertion of shoe lifts
- soft braces worn 23 hours per day, which have no proven track record for adult scoliosis correction and difficult compliance with juvenile scoliosis (Dr. Hersh’s own daughter would not wear the brace, she was a teenager at the time.)
- Hard plastic bracing such as Boston Brace, which must be worn 23 hours per day in most cases. This wastes early treatment intervention
Our ‘Breakthrough’ alternative scoliosis treatment is available at any of the following clinic locations; Winsted, Connecticut, Brooklyn, New York, Miami Beach, Florida and Punta Chame, Republic of Panama.
Included in this highly effective non-invasive Breakthrough scoliosis treatment are, among 12 different therapies applied;
- Specific (instrument performed) spinal adjustments
- Whole Body Vibration Therapy, at a specific frequency and hertz, (this is vital) which overrides the bodies resistances and enhances results
- Rehabilitative procedures
- Specialized isometric exercises to strengthen core body muscles that are out of balance
- Proprioceptive neuromuscular re-education of the neuro/musculoskeletal system which positively affect the scoliosis
- Restoration of the abnormal lateral curvatures in neck and lower back as well as pelvic rotation, some or all of which are inherent in scoliosis patients
Vibration Therapy, is a non-medical scoliosis treatment, via the use of a ‘Vibrating Scoliosis Treatment Chair and Vibrating Platform’ are used to override the body’s proprioceptive defenses.
Because the scoliotic spine compresses and rotates three-dimensionally, it must be tractioned and de-rotated in order for it to correct.
Remarkable results were found utilizing these procedures in a retrospective study done by Morningstar, Woggon, and Lawrence.[3]19 patients with scoliosis ranging from 15 to 52 degree Cobb angles (the angle which measures the degree of curvature of the spine) were monitored. Following the course of treatment, patients exhibited an average reduction of 62% or 17 degree Cobb Angle. 8 out of 19 patients were no longer classified as scoliotic. The therapy takes a fraction of the 23 hours per day a patient typically wears the brace.
So, if you ask– “are there any treatments of scoliosis that are non-medical, non-invasive, avoid long term bracing whether soft bracing or hard bracing?” – the answer is: Yes, there are new breakthroughsin chiropractic and alternative scoliosis treatment of and for scoliosis…
[1] Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: natural history and long term treatment effects; Asher, Burton; Scoliosis 2006, 1:2
[2] Misonceptions about scoliosis:D. Garnecki; Scoliosis mentoring program
[3] BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders; Sept. 14, 2004.
Cobb Angle: Males vs. Females:
For curves less than 10° the female/male ratio is essentially equal.
Rogala EJ, Drummond DS, Gurr J. Scoliosis: incidence and natural history. A prospective epidemiological study. J Bone Joint Surg Am 1978; 60(2):173-176
In larger curves the ratio increases to 8:1 but reverses again to 1:1 in curves greater than 30°.
Bunnell WP. The natural history of idiopathic scoliosis. Clin Orthop Relat Res 1988;(229):20-25.
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Waiting, Bracing and/or Surgery aren’t the only options for Scoliosis Treatment!
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