Problems with the spine can arise from various reasons. However, regardless of them, for injuries, scoliosis, and intervertebral hernia, treatment is a whole range of measures aimed at alleviating the patient’s condition, eliminating the causes of the disorder, as well as preventing relapses of the disease later. Drug treatment is only part of this complex. Another important part of it is therapeutic exercises, which is especially relevant for diseases of the spine and other musculoskeletal systems. But here you need to remember that, unlike ordinary gymnastics for healthy people, any set of exercises for a diseased spine requires prior approval from the attending physician, since the first task of any gymnastics is not to harm the patient.
What is scoliosis?
Scoliosis is a congenital or acquired curvature of the spine as a result of deviation of the vertebrae to the right or left relative to their axis. The disease often develops in children aged 6-15 years, and occurs as a result of improper posture. Despite this trend, the number of adults suffering from scoliosis today is predominant.
It is impossible to cure scoliosis without the direct participation of the person himself, since the disease does not respond to any medications or physiotherapeutic procedures. The only way out is to completely change your lifestyle, following the rules of healthy eating and physical activity. Leading orthopedists strongly recommend exercise therapy for scoliosis, including therapeutic massage, reflexology, yoga, physiotherapy and wearing special orthopedic corsets.
Treatment of scoliosis with therapeutic exercises
My vast 30 years of practical experience working with people with scoliosis and various other diseases of the spine has led me to the firm conviction that it is pointless to treat mechanical disorders in the skeletal structure of the spine using passive methods! Medicines, physiotherapy, massage, acupuncture and any other passive means of treatment, where the doctor moves, and not the patient, help only temporarily; they will relieve pain and inflammation, but they will not be able to return the vertebrae to their place or straighten the curvature of the bone structure.
Osteopaths and manuals can forcefully correct a bone structure distorted by scoliosis, but, unfortunately, before the first “bump” or step... the “knock” and the vertebrae will slide back into the usual crooked, incorrect position, since there is simply nothing to hold the bones “exposed” by someone else’s force! ! After all, a person does not have the necessary muscle corset, he has never strengthened it purposefully or trained his muscles with incorrect exercises, so the musculoskeletal system has already become accustomed to the incorrect crooked position of bones and joints...
To maintain the vertical upright posture of its owner, the spine adjusted itself and compensated for the vertical position of the bone structure with scoliotic arches (curvature). So, it is impossible to straighten a curved and adjusted structure forever by forceful manipulation of another person; the vertebrae will always slide back because there is no supporting muscle corset.
Therefore, a person will endlessly turn to manuals to relieve his well-being, and constant manipulation of manuals leads to instability and displacement of the vertebrae, called “habitual dislocation.” Then will follow the diseases osteochondrosis - decreased disc height, disease of the spinal joints - spondyloarthrosis, deformation of cartilage discs - disc herniation, etc. Suffering from back pain will be endless until a person understands that he needs to make his own efforts and form a muscle corset , which will protect and hold the vertebrae in their original place.
It is possible to safely reconfigure the musculoskeletal system if you equalize the strength of the 4 muscular walls of the torso , namely, return MUSCLE BALANCE to the skeletal muscles and optimally equalize the curvature, persistently doing technically correct exercises of therapeutic gymnastics. This is my professional opinion, formed by many years of work in this direction, tested in practice and confirmed by the results of people who received the effect after training with my professionally selected video sets of exercises. scoliosis treatment
The effectiveness of exercise therapy
The success of treatment through exercise therapy depends solely on the stage of scoliosis. As practice shows, stages 1 and 2 are best treated, while to improve the condition of a patient with scoliosis at stages 3 and 4, you will have to resort to surgical treatment. The first case is characterized by complete recovery after just six months of regular and persistent physical therapy exercises.
Such therapeutic physical training will be effective only in the first 2 stages, while curvature of the spine is best treated before the age of 25. It is during this period that the most active development of tissues of the musculoskeletal system occurs. Of course, treatment also helps at an older age, but it may take much longer.
What is the difference between exercise therapy for children?
Physical therapy has a positive effect on scoliosis of the first and second degrees. In a more advanced state, it will not be possible to correct the curvature with exercises alone, and even complex treatment does not guarantee a 100% result.
Exercise therapy performs several tasks at once:
- reduces the load on the spine and distributes it evenly throughout the entire body;
- restores the muscle corset;
- strengthens ligaments;
- corrects posture;
- normalizes blood circulation and respiratory functions;
- stops the progression of the disease;
- improves general condition.
Regular exercises can gradually align the spine to a normal state and prevent new deformities.
Exercises promote spinal alignment
But if teenagers treat such activities more or less responsibly, then children, especially preschoolers, quickly get bored with standard exercises, which affects the quality of gymnastics and its effectiveness. For this reason, when choosing a physical therapy complex for a particular patient, the doctor takes into account not only the individual characteristics of the body, but also the age of the child.
A set of exercises is selected taking into account the age of the children
For preschool children, a set of exercises should be presented in a playful way, while group classes are preferable, for example, with parents or peers in a physical therapy room. All exercises should be as simple as possible, and the duration of one session should not exceed 15 minutes. Musical accompaniment is welcome - this makes it more interesting for the child to study and he is more active.
Children like physical therapy with music more
For older children, the duration of classes is increased to 20-30 minutes, simple exercises alternate with more complex ones. So that the child can independently correct his posture, it is recommended to install a large mirror in the classroom. The room should be well ventilated, and the air temperature during classes should not exceed 20 degrees.
Exercises are carried out in a room with a large mirror.
Prices for children's orthopedic shoes
Find out how to do the exercises correctly from our new article - “Exercise therapy for grade 2 scoliosis.”
Rules for conducting exercise therapy for scoliosis
Ideally, the first classes should be carried out under the supervision of an orthopedic specialist, which will allow you to develop the correct execution of each scoliosis exercise at home, which will be repeated daily for a certain time. When performing gymnastics on your own, it is important to follow the following rules:
- Before each lesson, a general warm-up is carried out to warm up all muscle groups;
- all exercises for curvature of the spine are performed at a calm pace, without jerky movements and jumps;
- Strength training with lifting dumbbells or barbells is contraindicated;
- It is prohibited to perform exercises using hanging on the crossbar, while stretching the spine is best done in a lying position;
- It is important to alternate exercises for different parts of the body, starting with training the legs and ending with the load on the shoulder girdle.
Before starting exercise therapy, you should definitely consult with a doctor who, based on a comprehensive examination, will be able to create an individual set of exercises for scoliosis to perform at home. In the event of a general deterioration in the patient’s well-being, physical therapy should be discontinued.
Symptoms of stage 2 scoliosis in children and adolescents – how to identify the disease?
It must be borne in mind that in a child, even stage 2 scoliosis signs are less noticeable in movement, so diagnosis of the disease should be carried out under the conditions of a standard examination, to identify obvious symptoms of spinal curvature and other skeletal deformities.
Symptoms of 2nd degree scoliosis in a child: 1. Different heights of the angles of the shoulder blades, shoulders, distortion of the pelvic bones. 2. The triangles between the waist and the child’s arms hanging down are asymmetrical. 3. Asymmetry of the pits of the Michaelis rhombus. 4. Significant, visible to the naked eye, torsion of the vertebral bodies at the apex of the curvature, with the formation of a costal hump and a muscle cushion.
Types of exercises
Regular exercises for scoliosis significantly speed up the recovery process, and at the same time prevent the progression of the disease. An important condition is a responsible attitude towards exercise therapy for the treatment of scoliosis on the part of the patient himself. All exercises for spinal scoliosis are divided into two groups.
- Symmetrical. The principle of performing such gymnastic exercises is to maintain a straight spine. With scoliosis, tension in the back muscles occurs with varying intensity, which is why maintaining the middle position of the vertebrae will help not only eliminate the curvature, but also strengthen the lagging muscles.
- Asymmetrical. In this case, the load moves to a separate area of the spine, which reduces deformation in the lateral plane. This set of exercises is compiled on an individual basis, so performing asymmetrical exercises without consulting a doctor is strictly contraindicated.
Since symmetrical loads are the simplest and safest, we will consider exercises for spinal scoliosis at home while keeping your back straight.
Rules for performing therapeutic exercises
There are some peculiarities when doing exercises to treat your back. For example, exercise therapy for scoliosis in children, exercises for which are selected by the doctor individually for each case, are carried out regularly.
The standard complex is not suitable for everyone. It all depends on the department where scoliosis manifested itself and the stage of the disease. Some people will have to eliminate some exercises.
There are a number of basic exercises for scoliosis, but in some cases some exercises are excluded.
To correctly and effectively perform exercise therapy and avoid injuries during the session, adhere to some rules:
- perform gymnastics in a ventilated room;
- It is desirable to have mirrors that help you perform the exercises correctly;
- do a warm-up, qualitatively warming up the ligaments and muscles;
- exercises are performed slowly, without jerking;
- heavy loads are excluded (dumbbells, barbells);
- Exercise therapy is performed only as prescribed by a doctor, using individually selected exercises.
Charging is performed smoothly, without sudden movements, with muscle tension.
If acute back pain, dizziness, or tachycardia occurs, stop exercising.
A set of exercise therapy exercises for scoliosis
Even with a slight curvature of the spine, it is recommended to consult a doctor regarding exercise therapy at home. At stages 1 and 2, physical therapy will help restore normal functioning of the musculoskeletal system, and thereby cure scoliosis. In later stages, such exercises for scoliosis can even harm the already curved spine.
On the stomach
After preparing the place for practice, we lie down on our stomach, stretch our arms in front of us, and at the same time bring our legs together. As you inhale, stretch your palms forward and move your feet back. Gently stretch the spine for 5 seconds, then slowly relax and repeat the exercise again.
Lying in the same position, bend your arms in front of you and lower your forehead onto your forearms. We take a deep breath, and, bending our knees, try to touch our heels to our buttocks. As we exhale, we gently move our legs toward the floor, but do not lower them completely.
After completing the previous exercise, we remain lying down with our head on our forearms. We bend our knees at a right angle, and alternately, while inhaling, raise our legs up. To avoid injury, we try to maintain the angle in the knee joints.
On the back
We lie down on a flat surface and bring our legs together, placing both hands at our sides. We take a deep breath and tighten the knee so that a right angle is formed between the thigh and the body. As you exhale, lower the limb and repeat the exercise with the other leg.
Lying on your back, we spread our arms to the sides, taking the “cross” position. As you inhale, slowly raise your arms above your chest and touch your palms to each other. We exhale smoothly and lower our limbs to the floor, after which we repeat the exercise several more times.
Without changing the position, we move the straight arm behind the head, while the second limb should be held next to the body. While inhaling deeply, we simultaneously change the position of our hands. Between movements we exhale briefly, after which we repeat the exercise while inhaling.
On knees
Get on all fours with your shoulders over your wrists and your hips perpendicular to your knees. We arch our back in the thoracic region and fix the position for a few seconds. After this, we bend in the opposite direction, using the lower back, and in the same way hold for a short time in this position. We perform deflections as smoothly as possible so as not to damage the joints.
Remaining in the same position, we take a few steps forward with our hands, after which we lower our stomach, pulling ourselves towards our hips and straightening our arms. We touch our forehead to the floor and try to relax our neck as much as possible. For maximum stretching, we forcefully pull our arms forward along the floor, and move our hips back, while keeping our back straight.
Cervical curvature
If you have cervical scoliosis, perform the following rehabilitation exercises:
- Smoothly tilt your head forward, back, to the sides, to your shoulders.
- They turn their heads and nod.
- Standing still, arms along the body. They raise their shoulders and lower them.
- Raise your arms to the sides, up.
- Sit on a chair, bend your head forward, touching your chest with your chin, and bend back as far as possible.
- Cat. On all fours, bend the spine as you inhale, and straighten it in an arc as you exhale.
When performing these exercises, fix each one for a few seconds (about 5 s), tensing the muscles as much as possible. Breathing is calm and even.
Types of Scoliosis
Naturally, exercise therapy for grade 1 scoliosis in children most quickly copes with the problem.
The book also helps to overcome scoliosis. You need to place it on your head and walk around the house. Thus, coordination of movement develops, the muscles of the child’s neck and back are trained, and posture improves. They walk with a book once a day, starting with a few minutes, then increase the duration.
Exercises in the gym for scoliosis
One of the main reasons for the formation of lateral scoliosis is uneven development of the spinal muscles. That is why in the practice of treating spinal curvature, gymnastics for scoliosis is combined with symmetrical strength exercises. To strengthen your back muscles, the following training plan is recommended:
- warm-up in the form of moderate walking on an elliptical trainer;
- pull-ups in the gravitron;
- Bent-over rows with a rubber expander;
- crossover pullover with straight neck;
- forearm plank.
It is better to select the number of repetitions based on your own feelings, so that you do not feel failure during the last repetitions. In this case, the purpose of the scoliosis exercise is not to pump up the muscles, but to strengthen the muscles to support the spine.
Exercises to prevent scoliosis
Scoliotic disease often manifests itself in adolescent children, since it is at this time that the most active formation of the spine occurs. To prevent scoliosis, orthopedists recommend performing the following exercises at home:
- Squats. Holding the bar with both hands, the child needs to place his feet at shoulder distance, then, keeping his back straight, lower himself into a deep squat and return to the starting position without delay.
- Lying leg raises. Positioned not far from the wall bars, the child lies on his back and grasps the lower bar with outstretched arms. As you exhale, he raises his legs so that his toes can touch the middle crossbar, and with an inhalation he returns to the starting position.
Such exercises will help to form a strong muscular frame for the child, and thereby prevent the development of scoliosis.
