Exercise & Scoliosis

Note: Hi Everyone :)  I'm back and I'm sorry for disappearing.  Last Sunday I had to put to sleep my little yorkie, Sky.  It's been a hard week for me and I miss her terribly, but I'm trying to focus on the positive and I'm back.

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Note: I am not a doctor and what follows is my story and what I have found that helps my scoliosis.  If this helps someone, great.  If not, that's fine too.  Before you start any type of exercise program please speak to your doctor because he knows you best. 

One of the most important things you can do for Scoliosis is exercise.  I can't stress enough how important exercise is.  Due to the curvature of your spine, your muscles are a lot weaker.  In order to keep your spine in the best possible condition you need to exercise to keep your muscles strong because by doing that it will help lessen any pain you have, build up your muscles to help support your spine, and help you regain mobility.

Exercise is important but you can't get obsessed over it, nor can you just decide to not exercise.  You have to find a happy medium, and that's something I'm still working on to this day.  I have done every spectrum you can think of, from completely over-exercising to not exercising at all, to finding a happy medium and I would like to share with you my experiences with each and also share with you the types of exercises that can help your scoliosis.

Over-Exercising (i.e. becoming obsessed)
When I was first diagnosed with Scoliosis I had been doing some reading on the subject.  I had read that exercise was excellent for Scoliosis especially swimming.  I had talked to people who had Scoliosis and they suggested yoga.  So it started off quite simply.  I started doing yoga in High School.  I loved doing yoga because it helped me stretch my muscles and made me feel strong.  I started not only doing yoga in school during gym class but also at home.  From there I progressed into the mind-set that exercise was the only thing that was going to help my Scoliosis.  I started over-exercising.  For six hours each day I would do a combination of yoga, rollerblading, swimming (in the summer), bike riding and eventually added to that mix was pilates.

I had found out about Pilates when I was in my local bookstore and saw a DVD for it.  After reading how it could make your body stronger I decided to try it.  I become obsessed with Pilates.  I started doing Pilates at home everyday including going to Pilates classes and using a Pilates reformer.

During this time period, I wasn't taking very good care of myself.  I suffer from anxiety and depression and it was just a bad period in time for me.  I developed exercise bulimia, barely eating and exercising like crazy.

None of this was good for my scoliosis.  I would actually end up hurting my spine more than I was helping it.  My back would end up black and blue from the pilates.  When I was exercising, if I was in pain, I wouldn't stop.  I was doing a lot more harm than good at this point and time.  I took exercise to the extreme.  This basically continued from the ages of 15 to 18.  I was in a bad place and I hated my spine and the visible curve I had.

Not Exercising
Right before my 19th birthday I was diagnosed with extreme anxiety and depression and finally put on medication (a lifesaver).  The meds helped to calm me down and helped me take control over my life and stop my obsessions.  I realized how much harm I was doing to my spine by the extent of exercise I was doing, so I basically stopped cold turkey and tried to focus on feeling good.  The problem with this was 1) I gained weight and 2) My back started to cause me pain.  I exercised a little but nothing to the extent I was.  Exercise went on the back burner.  I actually got very scared because I was afraid if I started exercising again (and I knew how important exercise was for my scoliosis) I would become obsessed and start the vicious cycle I was previously in.  This went from the age of 19 to 25.  By not exercising my muscles started to hurt me, it was hard for me to do simple things like vacuum the rugs in my house, etc...  And my eating disorder was still present, so I wasn't eating very well (skipping meals, eating very little, etc...).

This was also a bad time for my scoliosis but during these years I started doing something good; I started seeing Dr. Greg and he helped to stabilize my spine through Atlas Orthogonal.

A Happy Medium
When I was 25 and my eating disorder was causing me problems as was my body image issue I decided to start exercising again.  I was scared because of what had happened to me years ago.  I couldn't become obsessed.  I couldn't enter again that dark place where I was.  And, I also needed to start eating correctly.  I needed to start taking care of myself because that's the only way I could be happy and healthy.  I needed to find a happy medium.

I started off with some rules.  I would only do 30minutes of exercise three times a week.  I joined with Curves and found I was very out of shape.  I started exercising there and as I got stronger I started adding in other little exercises such as ice skating in the winter or bike riding.  I was going to take it slow and listen to my body and start eating three meals.  If I was in pain I was going to stop.

I slowly started getting stronger and getting in shape.  Curves was good but I started feeling it was too body-image focused with the monthly weigh-in's and measurements and that was starting to feed back into my eating disorder / body image issues.  Also, I started challenging myself more on the machines and this led to problems with my Scoliosis because I started throwing my back out more.

I decided to quit Curves, change my focus once again to feeling well and not focusing on weight or measurements, and join up at my local Rec Center.  I started to walk around the track there, do the eliptical machine, as well as the stationary bike.  For awhile I experimented with free weights but found I could easily throw myself out of alignment if I did that, so I stopped.

I now exercise for an hour a day and I try to hit the gym at least 4 or 5 times a week.  When my hour is up I'm done with exercise for the day.  If I plan on going hiking, or bike riding, or rollerblading, or swimming oneday than I skip the gym.  I even skip the gym if I am going to clean my house and there's a reason for this.

It's important to know what types of exercise or activities are good for your spine.  It's important to know the exercises that will help you and which will hurt you.  As I've gotten stronger I found I have been able to clean such as vaccuming.  But, because I use my muscles when I vacuum and because I'm standing and bending at times after a bit my back will hurt.  So if I clean my house oneday that's an exercise in it's self.  It's important to not over do it.

Listening To Your Body
While exercising it is especially important to listen to your body.  If you're in pain... STOP.  If you feel light-headed... STOP.  If you feel you can't catch your breath... STOP.  If you don't feel well... STOP.  At the same time if you feel good keep going.  It's important to stay strong.

Staying strong through exercise will help your muscles support the curvature of your spine.  It will help you stand up straighter and maintain correct alignment (as long as you don't overdo anything or do something you're not supposed to).  It will help you feel good about yourself and help you keep mobility.  You will be less likely to throw yourself out of alignment if you exercise, but you need to listen to your body.  I have learned how to do that and at times it's hard, but I know it's important.  If I'm in pain I have to stop.  It's also important to take it slow and if for some reason I can't exercise for an hour one day than that's fine!  As long as I'm doing something.  It's taken me a long time to get to this point.

Good Exercises for Scoliosis
Low-impact exercises are the best for scoliosis.  They put less pressure on your joints and muscles allowing you to workout without being in pain.  Some of the exercises that I have found that are good for scoliosis are the following:

• walking
• roller-blading
• bike-riding
• eliptical machines
• recumbent exercise bikes (provides excellent support for your back vs. upright bike)
• swimming
• yoga
• stretching (any type is good)

Exercising is one of the most important things you can do for scoliosis.  It will help you stabilize your spine, improve mobility, help you stand straighter, help your muscles support your spine, reduce pain, and best of all make you feel good :)  If you are healthy and in good shape your body will function better.  For me, finding a happy medium has helped my scoliosis tremendously!  I love my spine now, I love that it's different, and on a whole I have a much better outlook on life.  Scoliosis and Exercise... it's all about balance :)