Scoliosis Pain Relief Options

Scoliosis, defined as an abnormal curvature of the spine, can lead to symptoms of pain. Whether you will experience pain and how severe it is, is dependent on a lot of personal factors. Regardless, living in pain can significantly affect your quality of life without the right treatment. If you’re looking for the best pain relieving treatment options, we will dive into all of the possibilities (including chiropractic care) that are available to you so that you can make an informed choice.

Why Am I in Pain?

Pain is an essential part of our existence for alerting us to danger and underlying health issues. However, when dealing with the chronic misalignments associated with scoliosis, these pain signals can quickly become overwhelming and unproductive. Chronic pain from issues like scoliosis can lead to faulty neural signals that lead to a lot of unnecessary suffering. Thankfully, addressing this type of pain holistically is ideal for helping you feel in control of your symptoms.

Below is a list of primary underlying reasons that you may be experiencing pain from scoliosis:

• Misalignment of the joints of the spine, hips, pelvis, etc. (any joint could be affected)
• Spine, or other joint, degeneration
• Local or generalized inflammation
• Poor neural tissue integrity secondary to compression or stretching
• Bad posture
• Imbalances of local muscles resulting in weakness, rapid fatigue, strain, stiffness/tension, or poor coordination
• Biomechanically poor movements that are straining local tissues
• And more!

When to Ask for Help

It’s never too late (or early!) to seek help when it comes to scoliosis pain. In fact, there are a lot of different reasons and stages that warrant getting appropriate scoliosis care. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

• When you want to prevent the onset of pain (or other related symptoms) or keep them from getting worse
• You are currently in pain and nothing you are doing at home seems to be helping
• If you’ve been dealing with chronic pain, characterized by experiencing symptoms more than 6 weeks
• Your pain symptoms are having an adverse effect on your mental health, mood, and overall quality of life
• Experiencing any type of neurological symptoms is a sign of curvature progression or spine misalignment and requires the most immediate medical attention- symptoms include shooting pain, loss of bladder or bowel control, sudden weakness, poor balance, numbness, and tingling

What Are My Treatment Options?

There are quite a few plausible options for better managing your scoliosis pain, or even potentially getting rid of it. Which option is right for you depends on what you’ve already tried, your specific symptoms, and your preferences.

• Chiropractic care. As spine experts, it makes sense that this is a top treatment option for managing scoliosis. They can help promote optimal spine alignment, reduce strain on the nervous system, and help you holistically manage your pain. Chiropractors specifically certified in scoliosis care and/or Chiropractic BioPhysics (CBP) are both high quality evidence based branches of care that can give you the upper hand.
• Physical therapy. Focus on optimizing biomechanics and exercise training that helps you feel strong and balanced.
• Bracing. A chiropractor or orthopedic specialist can fit you with a brace that provides support or even dynamic stability.
• Home exercise programs. The focus is on keeping the spine/core strong and stable.
• Acupuncture or Massage Therapy. For unmedicated pain relief and muscle balance.
• Medication or injections. Ranging from over the counter to prescribed medication for pain relief. Just be aware of addictive tendencies and side effects with this option.
• Surgery. This is not indicated for pain relief, but can be a potential side effect when the spine curvature is severe.

Living with Less Scoliosis Pain

Suffering unnecessarily in pain does not have to be your reality when you have scoliosis. Choose a treatment option that works best for you and learn to thrive in your own life. If you want to give chiropractic care a try, consider finding a CBP certified provider and give them a call today.