IS that the Question?
How I got curious about Side Bending and Scoliosis
Years ago, I was working with a client with severe scoliosis. I noticed she was experiencing some discomfort when I asked her to bend towards the side of her more prominent curve.
I remember being confused by this—I had been trained that side-bending towards the curve side (convex) would help open and stretch the muscles on the opposite side that were being compressed. It wasn’t until I got years of experience under my belt and really started to dive into the research that I fully understood what was going on.
Each Scoliosis pattern is unique
We often refer to scoliosis as a condition of the side body, as in the spine bends towards one side. In fact, scoliosis is a three-dimensional condition. In addition to the spine bending to one side, there is also a rotational component.
Usually the rotation is happening in the direction of the curve. The degree to which the spine is rotating can vary in a person with scoliosis as much as the degree of the curve to the side.
So, side bending is going to affect different people with scoliosis in different ways.
Functional movements and Scoliosis
There are some who believe that you shouldn’t side bend at all if you have scoliosis. There are also people who believe that you should only bend to one side. Chances are that if you are a human being then you are probably going to be side bending to either side at some point in your life. (Ever had to hold a baby and bend down to pick something up at the same time?)
How can we practice side bending in a way that will make us adaptive and resilient in our daily lives?
Instead of eliminating the side bend, try doing it differently
I try to be a movement optimist (a phrase I learned from the inimitable physical therapist Greg Lehman), so rather than avoid a specific movement altogether, I prefer to find ways to adapt the movement to the person. I will highlight two things that I have found in my practice when working with this community:
- Always go up first: This is a subtle, but profound adjustment. It is very easy to collapse and bend to the side, but this is when it can create some discomfort. Scoliotic spines love making space, so when you side bend think of grounding down into your feet, then lifting up and getting as tall as you can before you go to the side.
- Don’t go too far to the side: at least at first. What I have observed is that the larger the curve, and/or degree of rotation a person has, the less they like a deep side bend. Start really small (remember, go up first), then play your edges—as in, go to that place just before you feel discomfort, breathe and hang out there, then try going a millimeter further the next week and notice what you feel.
*Important side note—If you have a spinal fusion, the way in which you side bend will be different depending on where your spinal fusion is and what kind of spinal fusion surgery you have. This is a deep topic that I will save for another post, but generally speaking if you have a rod, for example, you want to avoid bending in that region, work more on stabilizing around the fusion, and work on mobility in the areas of the spine you can safely move.
I have created a relatively short YouTube video to illustrate these two points.
Although I do believe it’s okay to stretch and strengthen both sides, my scoliosis programs include unilateral work (strengthening one side and stretching the other) so as to address some of the muscular imbalances associated with the condition. In the video I show side bending for different curve patterns.
Please watch, then do, and report back to me!
