The root cause will surprise you
I begin any post, conversation or article about scoliosis and bad posture by debunking the myths about the origin of this disease. Most people think of scoliosis as a curvature of the spine exclusively (lateral deviation from the normal straightened position), limited only to the back and not associated with other departments and parts of the body.
However, this is a fundamental misconception, which is why people try to help themselves in ways that do not work and give the desired result. And all because patients do not work with the root cause, but with the symptom.
In fact, scoliosis affects the entire body of a person, starting from the top of the head and ending with the feet. And the scoliotic spiral originates from a deformed skull due to a birth injury.
Of course, even the mood and our emotions affect the posture, the position of the shoulders. Even high growth can give a person some discomfort, because of which he will stoop, trying to appear lower. But when it comes to scoliosis, the only reason for the development of this curvature is a birth injury.
When the fetus moves through the birth canal, the baby’s skull can be compressed. And the more twisted the mother’s pelvis, the stronger the compression. Visually, this is usually imperceptible, however, if the bones of the base of the skull move even a little and are set in this wrong position, in the future the body will adapt to this “norm”: first, the first cervical vertebra adjusts to the occipital bone and then down to the sacrum. But the process of change does not end there. The pelvic bones, thighs, shins and even feet – all departments are formed incorrectly in order to adapt the body to such a “norm”, although in reality this is not the norm at all. But the body needs to stay upright, so it adapts. And the same flat feet and valgus are the result of this very adaptation.
How can you help yourself as an adult?
Scoliosis can be completely cured only at a very early age, until the body has formed and until it is easy to return the bones of the skull to the correct position. The ideal age is 1.5-2 months. At this age, osteopathic treatment gives the most effective results, and we manage to help young patients. The further, the more difficult it is to do. It is impossible to cure scoliosis in an adult, because the body, including bones, is already formed. But you can significantly improve the condition of the person who asked for help.
Since scoliosis occurs in a large number of adults and you need to live with it, I give recommendations that will help improve the quality of life.
First, stop exacerbating your condition. And we do it every day: we carry weights on one shoulder, we sit on uncomfortable chairs in the wrong position. But it is so important to monitor the ergonomics of the workplace! In addition, in our life there is usually simply not enough physical activity.
Equal load on the shoulders
This is extremely important! At any age. I do not recommend carrying backpacks on one shoulder. Make sure that the load on both halves of the body is uniform and symmetrical.
Swimming
It is swimming that provides a uniform load on the right and left sides of the body. If you do not work with equal force with both hands, loading the muscles symmetrically, then you will not swim far. So swimming in the pool is a very useful and at the same time safe exercise.
Yoga
Only under the supervision of an experienced instructor. I do not recommend anyone to master this art on their own. If you do not have enough knowledge and experience, but you have curvature in the body, it is very important that you do all the exercises under the supervision of a professional!
Repeat every day
And finally, a couple of simple ones. but very effective exercises that you can start doing today.
“Herringbone”
Raise your arms up and fold your palms, as swimmers do – palm to palm. Now slowly stretch up and rise on your toes. Stretch hard. Try to fix the position of the hands as high as possible, as if you are hanging on a hook, and lower your heels to the floor, maintaining a strong traction for a few seconds. Now slowly lower your arms.
This is an excellent exercise for balancing the tone of the right and left sides of the body, for relieving tension, plus it stretches the entire body from the cervical region to the heels and has a good effect on posture.
Blade work
The main goal of the exercise is to bring the shoulder blades together as much as possible. To do this, in a standing position, we spread our arms back and try to bring the shoulder blades together strongly, as if we were clamping a sheet of paper with them. Bring your hands together, changing their position relative to the horizontal plane above and below. Thus, different muscle fibers will be worked out. Number of approaches? Until you feel tired. I recommend doing it at least once a day. With this exercise, you will strengthen the back muscles that tighten the shoulder blades and turn the shoulders.
Photo: Pexels.com
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