Hello, I hope you are well. I have a few questions. Is Parsvakonasana a pose that is good for someone with scoliosis? I can see that it really shows up in this pose. Should someone with scoliosis modify it in some way?
Yes, it is good pose for curvature. It should be modified so that one does the pose in a way that you can see the spinal curves correcting during the practice. On the side that doesn’t make much change or is simply curving with the scoliosis it is better to be gentle. Parsvottanasana is a better pose for curvature as it corrects the imbalance from the legs upward and creates a more long lasting change.
Hello Mukunda,
I was wondering how to adapt the Parsvottanasana pose to best help straighten my spine.
I have a scoliosis of 25-30 degrees to the right side (if you are watching my back from behind) , which is not causing me any problems (I am 30 years old, male).
I was practising with an Iyengar yoga teacher since 1,5 years now (once or twice a week). The problem is i am currently working in Africa, so I don’t have access to a teacher.
namaste
I think there is enough circumstantial and empirical evidence pointing towards that repeated back bends could be potentially harmful by predisposing or contributing to the development of thoracic idiopathic scoliosis in adolescents.
I would therefore recommend that back bends should be avoided by a person diagnosed with idiopathic scoliosis, especially if the curve is in the thoracic spine.
I hope this helps others continue to utilize yoga as a scoliosis treatment in the most safe and effecive manner possible. 
Dr Stitzel,
My daughter is in dance and has mild scoliosis should I be worried?
[QUOTE=kaya21;50529]Dr Stitzel,
My daughter is in dance and has mild scoliosis should I be worried?[/QUOTE]
Hi Kaya21,
I know about as much about dance as I do about yoga (aka: Not too much), but we do know that ballet dancers and competetive swimmers both have a significantly increase incidence of progressive scoliosis.
It is thought the hyper extension of the mid back (back bends) in both activities may be the culprit. This could and should probably be avoided by scoliosis patients with thoracic curves while doing yoga as well.
I hope this helps.
BTW, Kaya21… What exactly are you deeming “mild” scoliosis and is it thoracic, lumbar, both?
Thanks.
I don’t think they do back bends , she doesn’t do ballet only jazz hip hop type and pom routines but the dance teacher has recommended yoga for flexibility and core strength which she is signed up for next month.
I don’t know much about scoliosis or yoga so I think this is a good place to find out. I have just recently started researching online the things that she is involved with to see if they are harmful, I just don’t want her to get worse I have heard many scary things regarding scoliosis with kids.
It is in her low back her hips are off a little, the pediatrician said 14% and nothing to be concerned about he will check her again in 6 months.
[QUOTE=kaya21;50787]I don’t think they do back bends , she doesn’t do ballet only jazz hip hop type and pom routines but the dance teacher has recommended yoga for flexibility and core strength which she is signed up for next month.[/QUOTE]
Sounds pretty low invasive to me…Just avoid any activities that cause a “flattening” of the mid back.
[QUOTE=kaya21;50787]I don’t know much about scoliosis or yoga so I think this is a good place to find out. I have just recently started researching online the things that she is involved with to see if they are harmful, I just don’t want her to get worse I have heard many scary things regarding scoliosis with kids.[/QUOTE]
Welcome to the club. That’s why it’s important for us to put all of our collecstive heads together to figure this thing out. As a physcian I am dedicated to first and foremost “doing no harm”, but that is easier said than done sometimes in regards to inter mixing complex yoga regimes with a complex condition like scoliosis.
[QUOTE=kaya21;50788]It is in her low back her hips are off a little, the pediatrician said 14% and nothing to be concerned about he will check her again in 6 months.[/QUOTE]
Hmm, how old is your daughter currently and how old was she at initial diagnosis?
Most orthos will recommend observation only or “watch and wait” at this point, but I would highly recommend being a bit more pro-active and getting her genetically tested with the scolioscore test. It can accurately identify a patient’s genetic predisposition for developing severe scoliosis…but keep in mind the elimination of environmental factors is still really important as well.
she is 14, where can I get the test?
what is an environmental factor?
[QUOTE=kaya21;50796]she is 14, where can I get the test?[/QUOTE]
Hi kaya21,
You can find a complete list of Scoliscore testing centers nationwide at scoliscore.com
[QUOTE=kaya21;50797]what is an environmental factor?[/QUOTE]
Environmental factors are the outside influences that trigger a genetic predisposition to be active. For example, smoking is an environmental risk factor for developing lung cancer if your genetically predisposed to develop lung cancer.
As far as it looks right now, it looks like the environmental factors of scoliosis seem to be falling into one of three catagories that all interact with each other and the genetic pre-disposition (via epigenetics or otherwise). Let’s see how many we can list under these catagories and even add more catagories if appropriate.
[B]Bio-mechanical[/B]
Forward head posture
Hip rotation
Sacral inclination
Sagittal spine distortion
Secondary bone adaptation to asymetrical loading
[B]Activity related[/B]
Repeated hyper-extension of the mid back (ballet, competitive swimming, ect)
Compression of the spinal column (horse back riding, ect)
[B]Bio-Chemical[/B]
Chronic Mycobacterium infections that drive up osteopontin levels
Nutritional deficiencies? Selenium?
Given this is a yoga based forum we should probably stick to that as a main topic, but you can find a lot more info and conversations like this by joining the fixscoliosis.com forum. Good luck.
This is a bit of a slippery slope.
One the one hand we want to take action to foster well being. On the other hand we don’t want to place a thought in a powerful mind that can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
On the latter point, it is oh so common to talk about the amazing power of the mind to heal, mostly because this is a warm fuzzy and who doesn’t like them. However the power of the mind can also create conditions. It is for this reason that I ask adult students if they are the sort of person who is helped or hindered by diagnosis (sometimes the diagnosis is worse than the disease).
If you are of a mind that you can handle anything and the diagnosis help you get at “it” then it is helpful. If you have the sort of mind where diagnosis creates worry and fretting, well there isn’t much healing available to a worried mind.
Far too often I find myself cringing (here) when someone replies and lacks the mindfulness to realize they are placing thoughts in the readers consciousness. This is not the case here but I believe it bears mention.
Hi Inner Athlete,
Man, I love the way you think.
Agreed. It is impossible to have a relaxed body with a stressed mind. I don’t think this is the case in scoliosis treatment, since the biggest problem we have is early detection (which is a necessary component for early intervention), so the patients generally don’t even know they have it until the condition is quite advanced.
Duely noted and I will pay special attention to this consideration in the future. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
What are the mortality rates relative to scoliosis?
~ The mortality rate is 15 per cent.
~ Individuals with Scoliosis life
expectancy is decreased by 14 years.
Idiopathic scoliosis: long-term follow-up and prognosis in untreated patients. J Bone Joint Surg Am 1981 Jun;63(5):702-12
Weinstein SL, Zavala DC, Ponseti IV.
Neither are improved with scoliosis brace treatment or scoliosis surgery.
However, the biggest problem in scoliosis is the dramatically decrease quality of life.
The assertion that scoliosis treatment isn’t required unless it reaches the “surgical threshold” is absolutely naive as demonstrated in this article published in SPINE 2003; 28(6): 602-606 entitled: “Adult Scoliosis: A health assessment analysis by SF-36”.
The researchers found that adult scoliosis patients with spinal curves 10 degree or greater scored significantly lower in 7 out of 8 categories including physical functioning, general health, social functioning, and body pain when compared to the general population. In fact the researchers concluded “It is our conclusion that adult scoliosis is becoming a medical condition of significant impact, affecting the fastest growing segment of our society to a previously unrecognized degree.”
ITs a recent revelation to know that one might need to only take an asymmetrical yoga posture on one side of body/spine rather than both to move toward a more neutral spine - most yoga training says do on both sides in same way. how does this relate to working with the person with scoliosis