Warning Signs of Scoliosis
By Sara Butler
Your spine does a lot for you. It offers you support and allows you to move your body in a variety of ways. It provides an anchor for important connective tissue, muscles, and ligaments. When something is amiss with your spine, it can lead to big problems for you such as scoliosis. Here’s what you need to know about scoliosis and how your chiropractor can help.
What Your Spine Does
To understand the impact of scoliosis on your spine, you have to first learn about the important things your spine helps you to accomplish. Your spine is important in functions such as:
- Providing a channel for major nerves that regulate biological activities throughout your entire body.
- Helping to support a connection between the brain and spinal cord that then branches out to every tissue and organ in your body.
- Maintaining a balance of hormones throughout your body.
Without a stable and intact spine, you can’t achieve optimal wellness or health. That’s why your chiropractor is so concerned with resolving any spinal dysfunction or restriction you may have, so that your spine can function as it was meant to.
What is Scoliosis?
The bones in your back are not perfectly straight. They are actually shaped like the letter “S” in order to help distribute the weight of your body more evenly and absorb shock more effectively. There is one curve in your neck and another in your lower back to help accomplish this.
Sometimes people are born with an abnormal shape to their spine where it curves to the side, and this is scoliosis. Scoliosis can develop later in life, mostly in the teenage years. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 10 percent of adolescents develop some degree of scoliosis. Luckily, most of these cases are so mild they often don’t require treatment, but if you don’t practice good posture and take care of your spine, it can certainly become a concern down the road.
Warning Signs of Scoliosis
There are a few things you should be on the lookout for that may indicate you are developing scoliosis. Be on the lookout for:
- Posture abnormalities
- Uneven shoulders
- Twisting spine
- Uneven shoulder blades
- Uneven hips
- Unequal waistline
- Back pain
- Vitamin D deficiency
- Difficulty breathing
- Limping
If you worry that you may be developing an abnormality in your spine and it could be scoliosis, then you need to get checked out by a chiropractor at The Joint today!
To learn more about your health and wellness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic.