Do you have scoliosis? Don't do these exercises

Scoliosis is a malformation that causes an abnormal curvature in the back and although we can lead a relatively normal life, it is true that it makes it impossible for us to do some tasks and perform some physical exercises. Scoliosis causes pain and changes in the way we walk, so we must be very careful with our lifestyle and comply with treatment to improve our quality of life.

Part of the treatment is to perform stretching and some sports activities without impact on the spine or legs, but that do help to stretch the back, relieving tension and pain. This disease that affects the spine appears in adolescence because it develops in the growth stage. There are many types depending on the curvatures of the spine, and each treatment is different (and should be personalized).

Based on the latter, if we notice any abnormality in our child’s spine, we recommend going to a good specialist and start treating scoliosis as soon as possible to avoid greater evils. It should be noted that this disease is irreversible in a natural way, it is only so with surgical intervention.

Exercises You Should Never Do If You Have Scoliosis

This condition of the spine has different levels, but it does not matter if our case is very mild, we need treatment and of course we cannot do any of the sports that we show below.

• Judo.
• Karate.
• Boxing.
• Horse riding.
• Pole.
• CrossFit.
• Running.
• Releases.
• Jumps and obstacle courses.
• Hockey.
• Soccer.
• Paddle.
• Volleyball.
• Tennis.
• Climbing.
• Rugby.
• Basketball.
• Weightlifting.
• Bounce on a trampoline, trampoline and the like.
• Exercises on hard ground.
• Taekwondo.

Apart from these sports, there are some loose exercises of other modalities such as yoga, Pilates, swimming, dancing, ballet, dance or gymnastics that we should not do so we suffer from scoliosis. For example, exercises where we do intense twisting, where we stretch our back excessively, where there are sharp turns, efforts that pull from the back and everything where there are successive impacts such as jumps.

Movements and postures to avoid

Nowadays we spend many hours sitting or lying down and although it is difficult for us to confess it, we often have very bad postures. Doing it in a punctual way is fine, but when it becomes a habit that is when back, hip and shoulder problems begin.

For example, when we sit at the table, we tend to stoop to eat, that is a bad posture that will be reflected in the future with pain and spinal deviations. Also the fact of spending so many hours lying in impossible postures, looking at the mobile, not using pillows to sleep on the side, driving very lying back, etc.

Another very clear example is sitting down to write on a keyboard, and it also has its science, since the desk has to be at the perfect height to create a 90 degree angle in the arms . If our shoulders are raised it is already considered a bad posture because the table is too high or the chair is too low.

We always opt for height-adjustable computer chairs, like desks, but we understand that the necessary investment is not always available for this. You can also choose to buy a standard desk, an adjustable chair and an arm for the monitor that allows us to place it at the perfect distance and height.

We must maintain good posture as long as we can, force ourselves, so that little by little it will become a good habit and it will come out on its own. To force ourselves a little we can use posture correctors, but we warn that they are quite uncomfortable.

Solutions to relieve pain

Depending on the type of condition we have, we will need one treatment or another. There are scoliosis of all kinds, from a single curve to several and then there are the degrees of curvature. If we have 50 degrees or more of curvature, it is a severe scoliosis, if we have between 30 and 50 degrees it will be moderate. Mild is when we have less than 30 degrees of curve, and operations are usually raised when it exceeds 30 degrees, although it depends on each specialist, age of the patient, case, other diseases, risks, progression of scoliosis, etc.

Visiting a physiotherapist several times a month will help us a lot, as well as wearing comfortable shoes and visiting a podiatrist who will make us custom insoles with which to walk without so much tension and to help us compensate and balance our body weight.

With regard to bags, it is better to use cross-body bags with little weight or to use backpacks, but always making use of the two handles and with little weight inside. All this pack will help us in our day to day and our quality of life will improve significantly.

What we recommend the most is to go to the doctor every time we notice that the situation does not improve even by following all the tips and steps. It will be then when the option of surgical intervention is considered, but since it is a spinal column, it is an operation that carries certain risks.

Let’s not forget that each of the vertebrae that make up the spine are a kind of shield for the spinal cord, the control center of the human body. It is a complicated operation, but with a high percentage of satisfaction among patients.

Tips for playing sports with scoliosis

Only a physiotherapist and our trusted doctor who knows our entire case, can really help us, but there are a series of basic tips to be able to do sports if we have scoliosis and to be able to enjoy the activity to the fullest:

• Strengthen your back with the help of a professional. Go very slowly and avoid overloading.
• Swimming as a basic sport to promote good back and whole body health.
• Pilates, a new reality can open up before us if we give Pilates a try.
• Take care of our posture, as we have explained in the previous section. From sitting well, to sleeping on a good mattress and using a pillow between the legs, not crossing the legs, not standing or sitting for a long time, etc.
• No high-impact exercises, not even once a week.
• Have professional advice with some assiduity and keep a record of our changes, improvements, pains, progress, etc.