Scoliosis is an incorrect curvature in the spine.  The spinal curve may be going side to side or front to back or even causing the spine to rotate.

Let’s talk about what might be causing your scoliosis.

Is there a cause for your scoliosis?  Well, bodies are logical.  Things happen for reasons.

Makes sense, right?

It could be that your foundation is tilting.

But many doctors say the curve in your spine is idiopathic.

“Idiopathic” means “no known cause.”  But almost everything has a cause. 

One reader told me the doctor said his curves were idiopathic and that meant natural.  He said there was nothing to do because the bones in the spine were nicely shaped.  He did not see a reason for the scoliosis in x-rays of the spine.

Well, some people are born with a partial spinal bone (vertebrae).  It may look like more of a triangle than a rectangle. The doctor didn’t see that in the x-rays but still…

Something is causing these curves.  They are not happening without a reason, right?

• It could be caused by short muscles on one side of the body.  This could be from injury or habitually using one position like always leaning on the same armrest.
• It could be an anatomically short leg.  That is true for 1 out of 10 of us.
• It could be that one hip bone is smaller than the other.  That is true for 1 out of 100 of us.
• It could even be caused by a flat arch on one foot.

It’s too bad more doctors don’t know much about muscles and how bodies work.  It’s too bad they don’t look farther down the body to see what might be causing the spine to tilt and curve.

Do you have neck pain or headaches? Your neck is the last part of the scoliosis–the uppermost part.

When my own scoliosis was more pronounced, I had pain only in my neck.  But eventually I would have had a lot of pain!

Scoliosis can start from the feet up.  Mine was caused by one very very flat arch (arch supports to the rescue!)  🙂

Scoliosis makes it easier to have neck and pain because the bones and muscles in your back and neck are no longer aligned perfectly.

If the foundation (your lower body) is tilting, the building (your upper body and neck) is tilting!

Depending on the severity of your scoliosis you may be able to try to stretch the curve out of your body.  Stretch the side that appears shorter.

It’s ok to stretch both sides but stretch the shorter side 4 times as much.

How do you know which side of your torso might be shorter?   Stand facing a mirror as straight as you can.  Look at the top “point” of each shoulder.  Does one shoulder look lower to you?   That’s the short side.

Can massage therapy help with scoliosis?

If you have massage therapy to help you get rid of the curves that are causing distress, make sure the therapist knows how to look at your body and find the cause of your scoliosis.  Some know how to look at, assess and measure structure.  Most don’t.

And when you and they figure out the cause, the therapist will work on the short, tight muscles on the short side (inside) of the curve 4 times as much as the outer side of the curve.

You might have more discomfort on the outer side of your curve, but that’s the symptom.  The place to treat/massage/stretch is the inner side of your curve.

The symptom is where it hurts but it’s not usually the cause of scoliosis.

A movement therapy like yoga which makes your muscles long and strong–that’s how muscles like to be–may also help.  If you really look hard at a lot of the professional yoga instructors you will see they have asymmetrical bodies.  Yoga has helped them feel better.

Bodies are logical.

There is a reason that you have scoliosis.  Sometimes it’s harder to correct because the cause is in the shape of the spine bones.

But sometimes it’s fairly easy to correct the cause of your scoliosis naturally.  It may be as simple as a skilled massage therapist, maybe some x-rays of your hip or leg bones, and maybe a lift in one shoe.

You may contact me for virtual or in-person assessment and treatment (Michigan) or StJohn-Clark Pain Therapy Clinic in Florida.

You have a smart body.  It wants to be well.

You may be able to get rid of your scoliosis naturally!