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At Back to Health, participants in our adolescent
scoliosis program come in two times per week
where they participate in supervised exercise, including
exercise on the same machines used by spine specialist
Dr. Vert Mooney, to strengthen back muscles and
help stabilize the spine..
A significant number of adolescents, more girls than boys, have scoliosis (abnormal curvature ) of the spine. The standard treatment is to fit the youth with a brace that is usually worn 16-24 hours per day. The goal of bracing is to straighten the curve (or curves) or at least prevent it from progressing further as the child grows to his or her full height. In more severe cases bracing may be followed by spinal fusion of some of the vertebrae to maintain the curve at more acceptable levels..
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A recent study conducted by esteemed orthopedic surgeon Dr. Vert Mooney used specific exercise on specialized equipment instead of bracing, to treat adolescent scoliosis. Preliminary results achieved were equal to and, in some cases, better than 24 hour bracing. Since these results are only preliminary, more studies are being conducted to test the effectiveness of strengthening as compared to bracing. Still, since strengthening usually alleviates the back pain sometimes associated with scoliosis and corrects the muscle imbalance on one side of the curve versus the other, it is a valuable adjunct to bracing. Dr. Mooney's research found that the strength of muscles that support the spine could be increased by as much as 40%!
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The psychological boost of having a strong back helps teens to better cope with their scoliosis. In our experience this has been very successful. In fact, one 14 year old patient felt that his back pain was relieved, and that his tennis serve had become much more powerful!.
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