Throughout our daily lives we usually have a preference for either our right or left side. If you are a mother with young children you may carry your child resting on one hip. If you play racket sports like tennis and badminton, you will no doubt always use the same arm to swing your racket.
Perhaps you dance, play football or perform gymnastics daily and have a favourite leg you kick with. Maybe you practise the splits daily and always choose the side that is most flexible.
What could be the result of daily imbalanced movements?
Our spine divides the torso into a left side and a right side. The natural curves of the spine are anterior and posterior forming an S shape in the sagittal plane. A balanced musculature ensures the spine maintains structural integrity. If the muscles and fascia on one side of our spine differ from the other side, the muscle imbalance can exert a one-sided force on the spine.
This can be caused by excessive tightness or chronic injury from daily repetitive overuse. For example, if you hold your computer mouse for eight hours daily in the wrong position, you will constantly reach for your mouse forcing the mid back muscles and fascia on that side to work harder. Over time this daily habit can lead to a build up of scar tissue, mid back pain and potential neck pain.
When an asymmetrical force is exerted on the spine in the coronal plane it causes the spine to bend, creating a lateral curve and opposing twist at the curve's apex. The spinal deviation is known as a scoliosis and can be recognised as a C curve or an S curve. Sometimes the S curve can be a progression of the C curve through daily compensations and incorrect exercise technique.
There are two main types of scoliosis:
1)Congenital, which means the person was born with this structure of their spine
2)Functional, which is acquired through muscular imbalances.
The scoliosis curves can vary from severe and crippling to almost unrecognisable. The severe cases are usually congenital or develop at a young age without proper intervention. The structure of the spine causes an obvious rib hump, which makes moving the spine awkward and painful with reduced breathing capacity.
How can I recognise a scoliosis?
You may experience daily pain in the neck, back, shoulder or hip. Quite often there is a distinct difference in shoulder level or hip level on each side. This may not be indicative of a scoliosis, but can be a good enough reason to seek advice from a therapist.
Could my child have a scoliosis?
Children who walk to school daily, carrying heavy bags on their backs or shoulders could be susceptible to a scoliosis. To maintain the bag on the shoulder requires the shoulder to stay lifted, so the heavy bag stays in one place. If one shoulder remains higher than the other, the effect on the thoracic spine is to create a scoliosis curve to that side as the body compensates.
Can I get a scoliosis from playing sport or exercising daily?
If you play recreational sports which are predominantly one-sided, like football, tennis and other similar sports, repetitive movements are inevitable. If you want to reduce the muscle imbalances you can cross train with a balanced strength and flexibility programme. This will help to prevent injuries and further postural compensations. For professional sportsmen and women their daily training needs to be more specific to the sport, so muscle imbalance may still exist to optimise their performance in the sport.
When attending large group exercise classes it is important to be aware of your own body in terms of a dominant side. Try not to exaggerate the stronger side and use mirrors to make sure your alignment is correct. Instructor cues can be helpful but this will be limited in a larger group setting.
If you are concerned about this, you may like to consider some private exercise sessions to develop muscle memory and body awareness through personal cues and corrections. If your exercise goals include balancing your body and reducing scoliosis curves, it is preferable to seek private tuition with a qualified instructor.
How is lower back pain related to a scoliosis?
A C curve in the lumbar spine may cause the pelvis to be higher on that side. The cause of this lateral pelvic tilt could be due to a number of factors, including lower back pain muscle spasms; a leg length discrepancy; tightness of the IT band on the lower hip side; weak gluts on the high hip side; abdominal muscle imbalances; hip flexor imbalances and foot mal-alignments.
What treatment can I get to fix my posture?
Rolfing For Posture Correction
If you have a postural scoliosis due to muscle imbalances, there are manual therapy techniques that can restore your natural muscular balance. Rolfing is a form of structural integration created by Dr Rolf. The concept is based on the realisation that our physical and emotional discomfort are affected by our posture. If we have poor posture due to muscle and connective tissue imbalances, we are contributing to internal stress and real discomfort. The heart of Rolfing is to prevent the mis-alignments or correct them resulting in reduced daily stress.
ART For Posture Correction
ART is another form of manual therapy that can be used to reduce chronic scar tissue and restore mobility to a restricted area of the body. ART is an active stretching technique that uses a therapists hands to precisely locate the affected muscles and release them.
Strength Training For Posture Correction
For postural scoliosis, the combination of manual therapy like Rolfing or ART with a strength training programme can help maintain the natural curves of the spine. For scoliosis, flexibility training needs to be controlled to ensure the curves are not exaggerated, especially with S shaped curves. Ideally the aim is to unravel and lengthen the spine through muscle balance and to maintain the length to stay tall. Traction of the spine is particularly useful for this to prevent shrinking due to scoliosis or disc compression.
Core stability training will help provide support for the spine and focused efficient breathing can encourage length through the spine. A combination of exercise methods like pilates, yoga and other strength training can be effective in managing any form of scoliosis.
It will help to choose a knowledgeable instructor who will distinguish between contraindicated exercises and those that are designed to help you achieve your goals.
Perhaps you dance, play football or perform gymnastics daily and have a favourite leg you kick with. Maybe you practise the splits daily and always choose the side that is most flexible.
What could be the result of daily imbalanced movements?
Our spine divides the torso into a left side and a right side. The natural curves of the spine are anterior and posterior forming an S shape in the sagittal plane. A balanced musculature ensures the spine maintains structural integrity. If the muscles and fascia on one side of our spine differ from the other side, the muscle imbalance can exert a one-sided force on the spine.
This can be caused by excessive tightness or chronic injury from daily repetitive overuse. For example, if you hold your computer mouse for eight hours daily in the wrong position, you will constantly reach for your mouse forcing the mid back muscles and fascia on that side to work harder. Over time this daily habit can lead to a build up of scar tissue, mid back pain and potential neck pain.
When an asymmetrical force is exerted on the spine in the coronal plane it causes the spine to bend, creating a lateral curve and opposing twist at the curve's apex. The spinal deviation is known as a scoliosis and can be recognised as a C curve or an S curve. Sometimes the S curve can be a progression of the C curve through daily compensations and incorrect exercise technique.
There are two main types of scoliosis:
1)Congenital, which means the person was born with this structure of their spine
2)Functional, which is acquired through muscular imbalances.
The scoliosis curves can vary from severe and crippling to almost unrecognisable. The severe cases are usually congenital or develop at a young age without proper intervention. The structure of the spine causes an obvious rib hump, which makes moving the spine awkward and painful with reduced breathing capacity.
How can I recognise a scoliosis?
You may experience daily pain in the neck, back, shoulder or hip. Quite often there is a distinct difference in shoulder level or hip level on each side. This may not be indicative of a scoliosis, but can be a good enough reason to seek advice from a therapist.
Could my child have a scoliosis?
Children who walk to school daily, carrying heavy bags on their backs or shoulders could be susceptible to a scoliosis. To maintain the bag on the shoulder requires the shoulder to stay lifted, so the heavy bag stays in one place. If one shoulder remains higher than the other, the effect on the thoracic spine is to create a scoliosis curve to that side as the body compensates.
Can I get a scoliosis from playing sport or exercising daily?
If you play recreational sports which are predominantly one-sided, like football, tennis and other similar sports, repetitive movements are inevitable. If you want to reduce the muscle imbalances you can cross train with a balanced strength and flexibility programme. This will help to prevent injuries and further postural compensations. For professional sportsmen and women their daily training needs to be more specific to the sport, so muscle imbalance may still exist to optimise their performance in the sport.
When attending large group exercise classes it is important to be aware of your own body in terms of a dominant side. Try not to exaggerate the stronger side and use mirrors to make sure your alignment is correct. Instructor cues can be helpful but this will be limited in a larger group setting.
If you are concerned about this, you may like to consider some private exercise sessions to develop muscle memory and body awareness through personal cues and corrections. If your exercise goals include balancing your body and reducing scoliosis curves, it is preferable to seek private tuition with a qualified instructor.
How is lower back pain related to a scoliosis?
A C curve in the lumbar spine may cause the pelvis to be higher on that side. The cause of this lateral pelvic tilt could be due to a number of factors, including lower back pain muscle spasms; a leg length discrepancy; tightness of the IT band on the lower hip side; weak gluts on the high hip side; abdominal muscle imbalances; hip flexor imbalances and foot mal-alignments.
What treatment can I get to fix my posture?
Rolfing For Posture Correction
If you have a postural scoliosis due to muscle imbalances, there are manual therapy techniques that can restore your natural muscular balance. Rolfing is a form of structural integration created by Dr Rolf. The concept is based on the realisation that our physical and emotional discomfort are affected by our posture. If we have poor posture due to muscle and connective tissue imbalances, we are contributing to internal stress and real discomfort. The heart of Rolfing is to prevent the mis-alignments or correct them resulting in reduced daily stress.
ART For Posture Correction
ART is another form of manual therapy that can be used to reduce chronic scar tissue and restore mobility to a restricted area of the body. ART is an active stretching technique that uses a therapists hands to precisely locate the affected muscles and release them.
Strength Training For Posture Correction
For postural scoliosis, the combination of manual therapy like Rolfing or ART with a strength training programme can help maintain the natural curves of the spine. For scoliosis, flexibility training needs to be controlled to ensure the curves are not exaggerated, especially with S shaped curves. Ideally the aim is to unravel and lengthen the spine through muscle balance and to maintain the length to stay tall. Traction of the spine is particularly useful for this to prevent shrinking due to scoliosis or disc compression.
Core stability training will help provide support for the spine and focused efficient breathing can encourage length through the spine. A combination of exercise methods like pilates, yoga and other strength training can be effective in managing any form of scoliosis.
It will help to choose a knowledgeable instructor who will distinguish between contraindicated exercises and those that are designed to help you achieve your goals.