I have had scoliosis all my life. I was just never aware of it.
In the late 1990s, I started to have some back problems. I went to my GP at the time, a wonderful doctor, I thought. He suggested that I go for physiotherapy and prescribed some muscle relaxants.
Since that time, my scoliosis has become progressively worse with the curvature of my spine increasing. At the same time, my muscles have become more screwed up, so the pain increases as well. It’s approaching the point where it will be hard to take.
I first visited a physiotherapist in 1997 at the suggestion of my family doctor. I was told extraordinarily little at the time, and nothing was mentioned about scoliosis by my doctor or by the physiotherapist. There were some exercises suggested, and that was it.
Fast forward to 2013. My back was getting worse. I went to a sports medicine doctor at the Cleveland Clinic in Toronto. And yes, I was diagnosed with scoliosis. I was sent packing with little or no information on the severity. I was only told that it would likely get worse with age, and that was that.
Since 1997 I have visited many physiotherapists, chiropractors, doctors, and other so-called professionals. Nothing has helped, and it just gets worse. After all these years and many thousands of dollars spent, I still have no idea what my curve looks like.
If you search on YouTube for scoliosis, you will find thousands of videos. Exercises, therapy, can it be fixed, blah, blah, blah. Yoga for scoliosis, exercises for scoliosis, on and on and on. The same applies to a search.
What I have discovered over the years is the following. When it comes to diagnosis and treatment, you’re on your own. There are very few people who know what they are talking about. Most of the YouTube videos are littered with unsupported opinions, no documenation as to the qualifications of the presenter, and little useful information that isn’t repeated elsewhere hundreds of times.
It’s a total waste of time. What you need to do is go back and do your own research on the fundamentals. Let me give you an example.
It would seem to me that when yiu have scoliosis two issues need to be addressed. The curvature of the spine and the muscles that control the curve. Looking at all the “information” on the ‘net, these two seem to be comingled. It’s a “what came first, the chicken or the egg.
With scoliosis what you have is over time an imbalance in your muscles. Some muscles are too short, and some muscles are too long. The curving of the spine creates this imbalance. It would seem, then, that what is necessary is to work on this imbalance. The muscles control the bones, and not vice versa.
Over the years, exercises have done nothing for me. It just gets worse. The only thing left is to try to correct this imbalance. The exercises should focus on lengthening the shortened muscles. So, I’ll give it a shot.
Doctors and other so-called health care professionals nowadays are focused more on money and less on helping their patients. Don’t assume that anyone knows what they are talking about. Do your own homework.
I am suffering and have been suffering over the years as a direct result of relying on people who don’t have a clue. Don’t make the same mistake.