Can Chiropractic Fix Scoliosis?

Scoliosis is the condition when the spine curves to the sides. This can appear as either an S or a C shape. The spine is normally straight when viewed from the front or the back and curved when viewed from the side. Most cases are mild but can gradually become severe as time goes on.

Symptoms of Scoliosis

Many people with scoliosis have little to no pain. Severe cases, though, can lead to symptoms such as generalized back pain, spasms, neurological symptoms, and trouble breathing.

What causes scoliosis?

Most causes of scoliosis are unknown. The vast majority of the time, there is no known direct cause for scoliosis. This is labeled idiopathic, as in literally, there is no known cause. Some known causes, though, are spinal infection or injury.

Different Types of Scoliosis

Most cases of abnormal spinal curvature have the spine curving to the right. This is known as dextro-scoliosis.

What most sites and clinics don’t tell you is that if the curvature goes to the left, the cause is spinal cord injury.

Treatment for Scoliosis

Current treatments for scoliosis range from braces, physical therapy, exercises, yoga, chiropractic, and in severe cases, surgery. Surgery should be a last resort.

But why fix my neck?

While many forms of physical therapy and massage focus on where the scoliosis is located, Upper Cervical doctors, such as Dr. Jerome Ri, DC look for the cause of the curvature. The brainstem is the control center for all unconscious positioning of your body. Also, if there is a spinal cord injury, then clearing any neurological interference might help reverse the curvature by relieving tension to the spinal cord.

A Case Study

Recently a new patient began with Dr. Ri at Upper Cervical Health Care of Orange County with a severe case of scoliosis. She is a 25-year-old woman and began developing her scoliosis after a fall from a basketball hoop at age 8. She landed on her head and underwent surgery for the brain trauma.

In the years that followed, she developed a left side curvature in her spine. With this, she would experience extreme tightness and pain in her shoulders and neck. She came in our office at the request of her father who was also undergoing Upper Cervical Care.

Scoliosis before and after

Before and After Upper Cervical Care

Here, you can see her progress. The left picture shows her scoliosis right before she began Upper Cervical Chiropractic Care. She started with a 55.7-degree curve. The right picture shows her spine after a few months of care. Her scoliosis reduced down to 39.2 degrees. These X-rays were taken and measured by a spine specialist. No other intervention was needed during this care.

If you are someone you know has scoliosis or even the early signs of scoliosis, let them know that Upper Cervical chiropractics may be the solution to help stop or even reverse the curve.