Scoliosis

A debate has waged for decades between chiropractors and allopathic (medical) doctors, between different schools of traditional medicine , and between chiropractors themselves as to the cause of scoliosis. For years scoliosis has been considered an idiopathic (meaning it has an unknown cause) condition. One thing that every school of medicine and health care can agree on is that it is a developmental condition. You don't just wake up one morning with scoliosis, it develops over time. This means that if it is caught early it can be treated.

Most chiropractors have held the belief that scoliosis is a result of pelvic un-leveling caused from some sort of injury, or trauma to the pelvis early in life. The pelvis is composed of three major bones; the sacrum (in the middle) and the iliac bones (both sides) separated by two fibrous joints called the sacroiliac joints. These joints don't move as freely as a knee or elbow joint but they do flex and allow the pelvis to take some of the load when a person walks. If this joint is strained enough it can slip, causing the iliac bone to rock either forwards or backwards and become stuck. Since the hip joint is attached to the iliac bone it moves along with the affected bone. This can cause either a functionally short or long leg compared to the other. This difference can be 2-3 millimeters or all the way up to an inch in extreme cases. The spine is incredibly adaptive and will compensate to keep the body's torso vertical, resulting in a curvature of the spine. If this happens early in life the spine will develop with this curvature in place resulting in scoliosis. Consider a tree in comparison, a tree's roots can grow in a nearly vertical hillside, but the trunk always grows straight up. As the tree grows the trunk develops a curve at the base. Once the tree becomes old enough this curve is permanent. If caught early enough pelvic un-leveling can be corrected and the spine can develop properly. You are never too young to see your chiropractor! And it is never too late to be treated for scoliosis. Scoliosis puts unusual stresses on the spine predisposing scoliosis patients to disc injury and subluxation (minor malposition of the spinal segments). This is why anyone with scoliosis should actively seek out a chiropractor.

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At Southern Spinal Rehab, LLC we believe that an educated patient is a happy patient. If you know of others that may benefit from this information please share it with them. If this appears to be what you or someone close to you suffers with please call and make an appointment at 850-475-HAAS (4227). The greatest compliment you can give to a physician is the referral of friends and family.