Any other scoliosis sufferers out there who exercise?

mochicakes92

If so, what is your preferred means? I've never been active before in my life until recently and I've been worried about how this is going to affect my scoliosis, as if I strain something juuust right I will have unbearable rib pain for about a week (my ribs were always what I felt most from having a crooked spine). I have been thinking about trying the 30 Day Shred, but I am scared that something of that high of an intensity will impact me negatively. It'd be really great to hear from you guys and know I am not alone! :bigsmile:

ZTazlor

Hey - yeah, I have mild scoliosis in my lower spine.
You shouldn't be afraid of exercising as it should at least prevent further deterioration. Your chiropractor or specialist should be able to guide you with regards to what you can/can't do.
While I don't let anything stop me from doing whatever sport/exercise I want, you just need to learn to listen to your body, some days it'll be fine, and other days it may irritate it.

gmallan

There's a girl on my football team who has scoliosis. It probably depends on how bad yours is. I'd have a chat to your doctor about it expecially before starting something intense. If that's not an option at least start with something fairly light and work your way up. Of course the whole time listening to your body and stoppingif anything hurts

PikaKnight

There is a pro-lifter named Amanda Harris aka Barbie Barbell. Monitored by her doctor of course, she actually used lifting as a mean to help her when she was diagnosed with acute scoliosis at the age of 8.

http://www.ironmanmagazine.com/amanda-harris/

Kittyvicious1

i too have mild scoliosis in my upper mid spine, diagnosed 17 yrs ago. I play sports, run, workout. My back only hurts when I sit too long. Talk to your doctor and depending on your condition listen to ypr body and do what you are able to do, work up from there as your body gets stronger

Cait_Sidhe

I was born with a genetic bone disease that causes bone and cartilage tumors on every joint in my body, including my spine. As a result, I have both mild scoliosis and lordosis (lordosis is more pronounced and makes my butt and lower tummy more rounded). As a teenager I was told by orthopedic surgeons that if I didn't do the exercises they prescribed, I would end up in a back brace. I promptly forgot the exercises and never did have to wear a back brace.

I do get a lot of exercise. My preferred form of exercise is lifting heavy, I've been doing Wendler's 5/3/1, but am taking a break from it due to acute leg pain. If anything, it's helping with the spinal curvature and my posture is improved.

I've also completed New Rules of Lifting for Women and took Stronglifts 5x5 as far as I could with no negative effects. I used to run as well, and that only hurt my knees, not my back.

iorahkwano

i too have mild scoliosis in my upper mid spine, diagnosed 17 yrs ago. I play sports, run, workout. My back only hurts when I sit too long. Talk to your doctor and depending on your condition listen to ypr body and do what you are able to do, work up from there as your body gets stronger

Same here, but only diagnosed at 16 years old after telling doctors for 3 years that my upper mid-back was sore. I have an 'S' curve that has been measured anywhere between 12-28 degrees. One of my shoulder blades is noticebly lower & one side of my ribcage protrudes when lying flat on a floor.

I weightlift, run, bike, rollerblade, play softball & did kickboxing, dragonboat & jiu jitsu. In my experience, exercise strengthens the muscles supporting my spine, keeps me limber & makes me feel better day to day. Sometimes when starting a new workout, my spine may ache the first 1-2 times I do it but then it adapts (much like a muscle).

I find sitting or laying around all day is what causes me the most pain. If I don't workout for 2 weeks, I start to get a constant nagging ache in my spine, especially in the mornings.

amsparky

Do it!

I have a 58 degree curve and am on the cusp of needing surgery and I am just now slowing down. I live by my foam roller and heating pad.

It really depends on where your curve is and what you want to do. For example, I love to squat, but having the rack on my upper back/shoulders KILLS lately, so I have to alter how I squat. I also cut WAY back on running (like, I didn't do ANY for a while and am just now getting back to it) because the movement of swinging my arms was aggravating things. You can push through it, but you have to be willing to see how your back will react.

Feel free to ask any questions - I've been trying to work closely with my dr and physical therapist to make sure I don't do more harm than good.

Good luck!

Otrogen

Do it, but carefully. My boyfriend has scoliosis, spine in the S shape and all of that, and he lifts pretty heavily. He built up to it, though, and he never had any of those kinds of problems with his ribs :X. His actually hurts his cardio more than it does any weight lifting he does.

Be very careful and go to your doctor first to ask for suggestions. There's a good chance that he may not know himself what you should do, but perhaps he could refer you to a physical therapist or someone else of that sort who could tell you how to safely work out. Don't let your scoliosis stop you, though .

TheBaileyHunter

I have mild scoliosis and exercising has actually helped with random disc/sciatica issues (this is how it affects me most). I did get some info first, and I chose a personal trainer who made sure to do her research as well, but it's been great. I pay attention to my body and when things seem to be testing the lower back too much, I alter the exercises to meet my physical limitations.

missveeoh

I'm 19, I was diagnosed at 16. My curve is around 25 degrees, and since I stopped growing there is no
need for surgery though I read somewhere that as you get older the disks between your spine compress (something like that, I'm not sure if this sounds silly). doctor agreed and said surgery wasn't needed but if I wanted a back brace I could get one. I use the machines and lift and try to maintain proper form all the time. Even when I'm on the stairmaster I stand upright and don't lean my upper body over the hand bar/screen of the machine. The only time I experience a discomfort on my back is when I am carrying my school bag on my right shoulder (its always my right shoulder) and college books are heavy lol I should really get a backpack. Anyway, Idk if this helps you. Sorry! Oh and my back hurts when I'm typing my long essays and I need to finish on time so sitting for long hours makes my back hurt- I even ''try'' not to slouch- its a horrible habit I need to break.

bellesouth18

In a nutshell, I have asymmetrical rotary scoliosis. I wasn't diagnosed until age 19. I'm 60 years old now and still bounce on my trampoline. I was a gymnast in spite of being told to quit by my doctor. I told him that I was going to tumble my way into my 80s. I have 20 years to go!

There are some things that I'm afraid to do, especially at my current age, because I have some vertebrae that never fused together. I just do what doesn't bother me too much. I went roller skating today!

Just start slowly if you've never exercised. Find out what you can do and go with it! Good luck!

mochicakes92

I also forgot to mention that I had a spinal fusion surgery at the age of 14, so 7 years ago xD lol. Not sure what the degrees of my curve were, though.

AlexiScott

I primarily walk: Treadmill on incline or outside. Stretches are awesome post walking. Just listen to your body and be able to decipher between serious pain and workout pain.

sarrah_n

I've got a curve in my upper spine that can cause pain in my shoulders and neck, unfortunately it's just something i have to live with. I wouldn't let scoliosis slow you down. If you are just getting started I would suggest talking to see how your body reacts and progress to running to see how the impact feels. I have also found that yoga is a great way to strengthen you core muscles that support your spine.

DrMAvDPhD

I started a group on here for scoliosis sufferers to get together. I'll come back on my computer tomorrow with the link :-)

scookiemonster

I don't, but my mother does. She's in her sixties now, and she had major back surgery due to her scoliosis about 40 years ago. I know that she finds that if she doesn't work out her pain gets a lot worse. Her solution has been swimming several times a week and doing pilates daily, or at least as often as she can do it. She definitely notices a difference when she misses her swims, and I have a lot of memories of going to the pool with her at our local Y all through my childhood. Given all this, even though she's 30+ years older than me, she's probably in better shape than I am and has always been quite healthy - definitely an inspiration worth following!

DrMAvDPhD

Here's the group:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/7217-scoliosis

Lots of people sharing exercise dos/don'ts, pain management, and fusion stories over there!

hsp374

Bump

mochicakes92

Here's the group:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/7217-scoliosis

Lots of people sharing exercise dos/don'ts, pain management, and fusion stories over there!

I have actually been a member of that group for about a month now! (: I find a lot of the threads and stories very interesting.

RachelRuns9

awesome, thanks for posting! it can be so hard to think of groups to join as they are not easily searchable!

BenjaminMFP88

I have scoliosis in the lower region and It was a rough start. But after a good amount of consistancy of regular stretching and lifting, I noticed it got significantly better. I went from struggling to full squat 135 to almost hitting my 355-405 mark. I'd give it some time and go really slow at first especially with any exercise that is going to put pressure on your spine. After a few weeks, maybe see your Dr to make sure it isn't damaging anything.

RachelRuns9

Oh yes, I have a huge curvature, had fusion and have rods and I found 30DS to be purely delightful! I think the only workout that might cause you some issues would be road running (I am finding that my hips aren't even and it's causing me some difficult) and doing heavy lifting, which as the previous poster said, you will still overcome just take it easy.

Do not be worried about doing low impact bodyweight videos such as Jillian's stuff - I love doing them!