Over four million Americans have scoliosis, a sideways curvature of the spine, and most feel pain as a result. However, the pain of scoliosis in both adults and children can often be relieved significantly to improve their quality of life. In children, we can usually reduce the curvature or halt its progression. These outcomes are possible through treatments that focus on releasing restrictions in connective tissue called fascia. 

Fascia is a tough, fibrous tissue that covers muscles, joints, bones, and other tissues. It contains millions of nerve endings that create position sense, or proprioception, telling our brains where our various body parts are in space.  

Scoliosis is the result of issues with position sense. Conventional medicine treats most cases of scoliosis as idiopathic, which means the cause is unknown. However, in my clinical experience, restricted fascia can play a large role in this spinal distortion and the pain that follows. Fascia restrictions can distort normal position sense, activating muscular imbalance which then causes abnormal curves in the spine.  

Children 

A large number of scoliosis cases start in either childhood or adolescence. Many cases are even found by school nurses in routine screenings.  In mild scoliosis cases, conventional medical care means simply monitoring the spine with X-ray exams to ensure the curvature doesn’t worsen. These exams generally take place every six months. 

If a child’s spinal curve becomes more severe, physical therapy with stretches and exercises is often used to stop the curve’s progression, and this can be effective. A spinal brace might also be able to keep the curve from worsening. But in some cases, these treatments do not help, and the curve continues to increase. If the scoliosis becomes severe, a surgery that places metal rods next to the spine will often be the next recommendation.  

In my experience, while stretches and specific exercises are useful, treating restricted fascia is the most critical part of a non-surgical scoliosis treatment protocol. In children younger than 16, the fascia release treatments we use tend to reduce the curvature significantly, and in many mild cases, eliminate it altogether.  

Once a child receives a scoliosis diagnosis, the most important consideration is to stop the abnormal curves from increasing. In almost thirty years of using fascia release therapy to treat children with scoliosis, fascial treatments have almost always halted progression of the curves, often reducing them considerably.  

Adults 

Scoliosis in most adults starts in their youth, but there are some situations where the curvature can develop after they reach adulthood. Trauma, surgeries, or other medical issues can sometimes contribute to this issue, but no matter the cause, adults with scoliosis are even more likely to feel pain than children with the same problem. In fact, more than three quarters of adults with scoliosis experience back pain. 

Many of these patients come to us feeling they have run out of options for finding relief or achieving a better quality of life. However, successful treatment of scoliosis pain in adults is similar to that in children, and the results are also excellent. The focus remains on fascia release, gentle stretches by a therapist, and specific exercises. Although the curvature itself usually cannot be changed much in adults, pain relief is still quite successful. 

An illustrative example of this is a 78-year-old woman, whom I will refer to as June. She had a lifetime of pain from her severe scoliosis that caused a visible posture deformity. Her pain increased in recent months, but she tried not to rely on medications that weren’t doing much to reduce the pain. Her discomfort was particularly intense while standing, even for less than 10 minutes. This limited her daily activities, causing her to spend most of her time either sitting or lying down to help minimize the severity of pain. 

Each patient is unique, but June’s treatment was like most cases of scoliosis I see. She received manual therapy to release fascial restriction, mainly in the spine and rib cage area. We also performed gentle stretches and gave her spinal exercises to do. Releasing the restricted fascia allowed position sense to correct tension in the spine, relieving muscle spasms and pain. Over time, her pain went from a 10 (where 10 is unbearable pain) to a three. This allowed June to resume an active lifestyle once again.   

Finding Relief 

With fascia therapy, most adults can experience enormous relief from the pain or discomfort of their scoliosis. Fascial therapies to remove restriction in connective tissue can significantly decrease muscle spasms, joint restriction, and painful motion.   

Some folks with scoliosis need occasional ‘tune-ups’ if their curvature causes new restrictions to develop. These tune-ups can alleviate the pain and restore range-of-motion. I hope fascia release therapy becomes more available in scoliosis care. The benefits can be profound for those who deal with pain from an abnormal spinal curvature. When folks experience pain relief without medication, it’s a win for their health and their lifestyle.  

Dr. Eric Winder has 29 years in practice and focuses on relieving pain and restoring alignment and motion through fascia release therapies. For more information, visit https://gentlebay.com/ or call 941-957-8390.