Treatment of scoliosis depends on a person’s age and degree of scoliosis, but in many cases it is possible to cure with appropriate treatment.
When scoliosis is still diagnosed in infants and children, it is considered serious and, for this, a good option is to wear the orthopedic vest, under the direction of a pediatric orthopedic surgeon, but in many cases spine surgery is indicated, in addition to physiotherapy.
- When discovered in adolescents or adults.
- Many can benefit from physiotherapy which can be of great help even to completely cure scoliosis; However.
- In cases considered very serious.
- When the person exceeds 40 degrees.
- Surgery may be considered the best option.
Scoliosis is considered problematic when above 10 degrees, requiring treatment with vest and physiotherapy, when the person has lower grades can benefit from swimming and clinical pilates to strengthen all muscles, especially the back, making the posture more correct.sitting awkwardly and lying carelessly on a sofa are important recommendations to avoid aggravating this deviation from the spine.
Physical therapy with exercises and electrostimulation devices is indicated for people with 10 to 35 degrees of scoliosis.
In physiotherapy several exercises can be performed with the aim of realigning the spine and to do this it is necessary to know which side of scoliosis is the shorter side, elongated and can strengthen the elongated side; however, both sides of the trunk must be worked at the same time.
Physical therapy should be done daily and can be performed 2 to 3 times a week at the clinic and every other day at home, performing the exercises personally indicated by the physical therapist.
A good technique to cure scoliosis is to perform postural correction exercises through RPG, which is global postural rehabilitation, this technique uses various postures and isometric exercises that aim to realign the spine, providing great benefits for the reduction of scoliosis and back pain. The exercises indicated are isostretching and clinical Pilates. Find out what it is and examples of isostretching.
Watch the video below and discover a series of scoliosis exercises you can do at home:
Spinal manipulations using the chiropractic method can also help reduce pressure and realignment of the spine and can be used once a week after a physiotherapy session.
The use of an orthopedic vest is indicated when the scoliosis is between 20 and 40 degrees, in this case the vest should be worn at all times and should only be removed for bathing and physiotherapy.
It is usually placed in children over 4 years of age or adolescents and it may take years for the curvature of the spine to normalize, it is not recommended to wear a vest when the curvature is greater than 60 degrees and between 40 and 60 degrees is not indicated until surgery is possible.
Wearing the vest forces the spine to be centralized and prevents surgery, being effective in most cases, but to have the desired effect, the vest must be worn at least 23 hours a day, until the teen reaches the final height, around 18 hours.years old.
The vest can only support the lumbar spine; lumbar and chest spine, or lumbar, chest and cervical spine, according to the needs of each person.
Surgery is indicated when there are more than 30 degrees of scoliosis in young and 50 degrees in adults, and involves placing orthopedic screws to position the spine as straight as possible, but in most cases it is not yet possible to leave the spine completely centralized., but it is possible to improve many deformities. Before and after surgery, physical therapy sessions are recommended to improve movement, increase range, elasticity and combat back pain.
If the individual does not treat scoliosis, it can develop and cause severe pain in the back, neck or limb of the spine, as well as muscle contractions. When the slope is high, there may be other complications such as a herniated disk, a spondylolisthesis, which occurs when a vertebra slides forward or backward, pressing important vertebral structures and there may also be shortness of breath because the lung cannot expand enough.
Signs of worsening scoliosis include increased spine reticence, back pain, contractures, and when scoliosis affects the spine limb, there may be symptoms of sciatic nerve damage, such as pain radiating to the legs, burning or tingling in the buttocks or legs.When it affects the middle part of the spine more, it can even compromise breathing, as the lung may have more difficulty expanding and filling with air.
Signs of improvement appear at the beginning of treatment and include a decrease in all of these signs and symptoms.