Scoliosis
Accepting New Prenatal Patients
Leading Chiropractor for Scoliosis
Our Chiropractic for Scoliosis Can Improve Flexibility, Range of Motion, Reduce Pain, and Discomfort
Every fall, many parents pick up their smartphones to search for a “scoliosis chiropractor near me.” Here at West Suburban Wellness, scoliosis screenings are a part of the back-to-school routine. Our scoliosis chiropractor would like local parents to know more about scoliosis and what they can do if their child develops it.
What Is Scoliosis?
Scoliosis is a curve in the spine where the spine should be straight. The unhealthy curve can result from one misaligned vertebra, or it can be pretty significant. No matter how small the curve, the body always compensates for scoliosis.
Scoliosis compensations are not corrections. They represent the body trying to do its best to keep the head level to promote normal functioning such as balance. Much of this compensation results from unevenly strengthened muscles and causes additional unhealthy sideways curves to form in the spine.
One of the most challenging aspects of scoliosis is that 80% of all cases have no diagnosable cause. The remaining 20% of individuals with scoliosis develop the condition due to spina bifida, muscular dystrophy, or other condition that causes spinal misalignment.
A common misconception our scoliosis chiropractor hears is that it’s a teenage condition. While it is more common in tweens or children aged 10 to 12 due to growth spurts, it is not limited to young people. Scoliosis that occurs at birth or at a very young age is infantile scoliosis. Four through 10-year-old children can have juvenile scoliosis. Scoliosis can also occur in elderly persons with osteoporosis and other diseases linked with spinal degeneration.
How Is Scoliosis Identified?
In children, scoliosis is most frequently detected during a back-to-school physical or scoliosis screenings conducted by school nurses. Sometimes, an athletic coach, dance teacher, or parent might notice that a child’s shoulders are at an uneven height, the hips are not level, or the ribcage is partially rotated. Such symptoms often lead parents to search the internet for their child’s symptoms or book an appointment at a local chiropractor for scoliosis testing.
Here at West Suburban Wellness, we perform a detailed assessment of scoliosis. We perform the forward bend test. Most people remember getting this classic scoliosis assessment from a school nurse, but we don’t stop there. We observe the spine as the child moves and assumes a variety of postures. This motion analysis can help us detect issues and develop a targeted exercise program.
While we have parents in the office, we also like to get a complete health history and a complete picture of a teen’s life. In our experience, getting as much information as possible about a child’s habits, friends, and lifestyle choices can help us build a healthy living program that works for them.
Sometimes, we refer a patient to a local practitioner for x-rays, scans, and other tests for additional data. When scoliosis causes a severe curve that requires surgical correction, we’re glad to provide supportive care around the surgery and long-term healthcare. We want so much more than relief of symptoms for our community’s children. Our mission here at West Suburban Wellness is to help give them the best possible start in life.
Complications of Scoliosis
Untreated scoliosis can cause a wide range of issues. Since the spine connects to the head, neck, and limbs, any misalignment can affect coordination, making falls and other injuries more likely. The spinal nerves travel through the spine, delivering nerve impulses between the brain and all the nerves. These impulses are messages that relay information from the senses and the body in motion. They help us process what we experience and act in our world.
Pain
When everything functions as it should, the spine is made of stacking vertebrae with specific curves designed to promote easy, pain-free movement. When the spinal misalignment of scoliosis skews this balance, the result is a pain in the neck, shoulder, back, and buttocks due to uneven muscle strength and nerve dysfunction. Excessive wear and tear on the spinal bones can become very painful.
Although the spine is in the middle of the body, misalignment can cause nerve pain anywhere in the body. This is because the spinal nerves connect to the brain, each other, and the nerves everywhere in the body. An example of this is sciatica. Sciatica occurs when the sciatic nerve is compressed and causes sharp, shooting pains that travel down the back of the leg. Since the sciatic nerve begins near the lumbar spine, any changes in this delicate spinal curve can cause painful sciatic nerve compression.
Dysfunction
Damaged spinal nerves can interfere with normal movement and organ function. Since the spinal nerves connect everywhere in the body, it is not surprising that some of our patients with scoliosis have reduced sensation or function in their limbs, fingers, or toes. They can also have altered digestion, respiration, and other organ function.
If scoliosis is exceptionally severe, it can interfere with normal lung expansion and breathing. One complication of scoliosis that surprises our patients is leaking spinal fluid. When this fluid leaks, it causes unusual symptoms such as headaches that mysteriously disappear while lying down, nausea, and muffled hearing.
Symptoms of Scoliosis
Since the spine connects the entire body, some common signs of alignment are unevenness in the shoulders, waist, and hips. Since the spine typically twists toward the side with the scoliosis curve, the ribs and muscles are more prominent on the side of that curve. The classic sign of scoliosis is a curve that can be felt when the child bends forward.
Scoliosis can cause pain, weakness, and numbness related to uneven muscle strength and unusual stress patterns it places on the spine. These symptoms are common in the lower back, but scoliosis can cause or worsen nerve dysfunction elsewhere in the body. Another symptom of scoliosis is dysfunction, also driven by nerve issues. Fortunately, chiropractic care centers on restoring nerve function through addressing spinal issues.
How Our Chiropractors Help Scoliosis Symptoms
Here at West Suburban Wellness, our chiropractic for scoliosis focuses on correcting spinal issues that interfere with normal sensation and function. We combine in-office interventions that reduce pain and healthy living plans that extend and enhance our results during appointments. Four of our most popular therapies for scoliosis are spinal decompression, chiropractic adjustment, and muscular therapies.
Chiropractic Adjustment
Many of our patients envisioned chiropractic adjustment or spinal manipulation when they first decided to see a chiropractor. We use this hands-on therapy to resolve spinal misalignments or subluxations. These subluxations interfere with healthy nerve function causing pain and dysfunction throughout the body.
A common misconception is that chiropractic adjustments can bend away a scoliosis curve. If we were to apply enough force to straighten a scoliosis curve, the spine would break, and we’d cause much more damage than we’d repair. The spine often makes some noise during treatment, and many of our patients feel a bit sore following treatment, but we are never rough during treatment. Chiropractic care gently supports nerve health and can be a helpful addition to any necessary interventions, including surgery.
Muscular Therapies
Muscular treatments include our most popular offering, massage therapy. Massage therapy soothes areas of unevenly working muscles and relaxes away tension resulting from skewed weight distribution patterns. It is a wonderful addition to our individualized prescribed movement program. Strategic exercises give teens the chance to strengthen muscles while having some much-needed fun.
Benefits of Chiropractic for Scoliosis
Chiropractic for scoliosis treats the underlying issues responsible for scoliosis symptoms. As a result, pain is reduced, and function is restored. Since we place so much emphasis on making healthy lifestyle choices, overall wellness also benefits.
Consult With Our Scoliosis Chiropractor
If you’re ready to find out what our chiropractor for scoliosis can do for you, we encourage you to get as much information as possible. Research online, ask other parents what they think, and give us a call. We’ll be happy to answer your questions and book a scoliosis consultation for your child.
Samantha Muscia
Radhika Shah
Nicole Soreng
Norman Rivera
Katharine White
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1127 S Main St
Lombard, IL 60148
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(630) 629-9500