The experience of physical pain has a profoundly negative impact on a person’s quality of life. When an individual feels pain, everything else recedes to the background, and life becomes focused exclusively on how to manage and-or eliminate the pain.
For people who have scoliosis, dealing with pain is particularly tricky. There are no quick fixes. And expensive, invasive surgeries are never guaranteed to diminish pain levels. Scoliosis pain affects lives negatively and keeps people from participating in the activities they love and enjoy. But for the average person dealing with the condition, there is no obvious solution when it comes to finding relief.
Making matters even more complicated, scoliosis pain doesn’t typically make itself known until well into adulthood. And many people continue to subscribe to the myth that abnormal spinal curvatures do not contribute to physical pain. With so much confusion surrounding scoliosis pain, it’s easy to understand why people resign themselves to lives of dealing with the condition using “Band-Aid,” stopgap solutions or by going under the knife.
Are you being kept from what you love because of scoliosis back pain? Have you been told that the only way to find relief is through surgery? Are you worried that your pain levels will increase to debilitating levels as you age?
Thankfully, solutions exist to the problem of scoliosis pain!
Why Does Scoliosis Pain Increase with Age?
I want to tell you about the effective solutions that are available for people like you who deal with scoliosis pain on a consistent basis. But first, I want to address something that confuses a lot of patients.
If you have been dealing with scoliosis since you were a child, you may be wondering why pain has increased considerably in your adulthood. This is actually quite common. Adolescents with scoliosis rarely complain about pain; for them and their parents, the condition’s negative aspects manifest as a decrease in function or an undesirable appearance. Pain is actually non existent or minimal for younger patients, and they are able to manage relatively full, active lives.
Once the body stops growing, however, scoliosis pain begins to present itself more aggressively. Why does this happen? In adolescence, the spine is continuously lengthening as the body grows. But when growth stops, the lengthening turns into compression, which places pressure on the spine and the surrounding nerves and tissue, which leads to pain. As the individual continues to age while leaving the condition untreated, the compression increases, which, in turn, increases the levels of pain.
Furthermore, adults are more likely to experience pinched nerves from degenerative scoliosis, which doesn’t typically affect patients until they have reached the age of 40.
The Scoliosis Pain Myth
Another confusing aspect of scoliosis pain is the persistent myth that it isn’t real. If you’re a person with scoliosis-related back pain, this probably seems outrageous to you! To you, it’s obvious that your condition contributes to the pain you experience, and yet the myth about scoliosis back pain continues to linger.
It’s true that spinal curvatures are not inherently painful. But to suggest that they don’t lead to real physical pain is silly. The areas of the body that surround the curve must adapt and contort in a manner that contributes directly to discomfort and pain, regardless of the severity of scoliosis. Again, this becomes exacerbated over time — adults join the workforce and must often endure long periods of standing or sitting. And as people get older, they tend to reduce the amount of healthy physical activity that’s present in their lives, which contributes to ever-increasing levels of scoliosis pain.
Scoliosis pain doesn’t just show up in the back, either. Many patients experience tension headaches related to abnormal curvatures in the upper-back area. These headaches can be especially exhausting, and can sometimes reach migraine-like levels of agony. What’s more, scoliosis may lead to a decreased flow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which can contribute to extraordinarily painful headaches.
In spite of the persistent myths about the condition, scoliosis pain is real! Fortunately, you don’t have to believe the myths, and you don’t have to settle for treatments that may or may not offer any relief.
Solutions for Scoliosis Pain
Thanks to a greater understanding of the condition and remarkable outcomes achieved through the chiropractic-centered approach to treatment, we now know that certain activities can help relieve pain and restore function for those with scoliosis.
- Exercise — Moving the body is incredibly beneficial for those with scoliosis. Bodies that experience motion regularly are more flexible and adaptable. They also have stronger muscles and more robust musculoskeletal systems, in general. Low-impact exercises like swimming, dancing, yoga or road biking can have the effect of reducing pain. This is because they allow the body to better adapt to spinal curvatures. Of course, no exercise regimen should be attempted without first consulting a doctor!
- Stretching — Spinal curvatures lead to tightness, which leads to physical pain. This is because muscles on one side of a patient’s body tighten in order to compensate for the curvature. Stretching can reduce tightness and help the compensating muscles to relax, which can relieve scoliosis pain considerably.
- Chiropractic-Centered Treatment — Surgery is far from the best option for treating scoliosis pain. It is expensive and invasive, and can actually lead to increased pain and complications. The chiropractic-centered approach to scoliosis actually increases function, and it reduces pain as a result. This is the approach I use to treat my patients, and the results are nothing short of remarkable. I also help my patients with exercise, stretching and the application of the latest techniques designed to reduce pain, improve function — and even reverse spinal curvatures!
You Don’t Have to Live with Scoliosis Pain!
Understanding scoliosis is difficult because it impacts the body in so many ways. And persistent myths only add to the confusion. The truth is that you don’t have to live with scoliosis pain! By taking the right approach, you can transform your body and your life, and you can get back to living the way you want while doing the things you love.
