Sunday, April 11, 2010

Chiropractor & ART (Active Release Therapy)

I'd been seeing my chiropractor for about a year and decided it was time for him to actually measure the degree of my curve so I knew what I was dealing with. My cobb angle (the angle measured from where the bottom of the curve and the top of the curve meet) was at 52 degrees. Not great but not terrible. If I was a teenager I would probably be recommended for surgery, even as an adult most doctors in the western medical field would recommend this. But my parents thought it too harsh then and I think the same thing now. My chiro said that you never want to consider surgery and that it is possible that the curve will not get worse. This maintainance strategy is why I started to visit a chiropractor.

He recommended I try a heel lift although I'm still skeptical. What is it doing to do to my body to constantly be taking it in and out of my shoe?

He also suggested I added more swimming into my exercise routine. I went for the first time in months and paid conscious attention to my breathing, keeping my hips level and using my core to do this. It was so hard for me and I realised I hadnt been swimming with correct posture my entire life and it was probably making my posture worse. After a few weeks I could definitely feel an increase in my breathing capacity which is something that can be constricted when dealing with scoliosis.

ART - Active Release Therapy - the chiro also started ART when he noticed I had a very tight area (like neck or hip). It's used for extremely tight and stiff muscles that need to be released and usually completed after a chiropractic adjustment. The chiro applies pressure on the end of a muscle while the patient moves their neck or arm or leg to lengthen the muscle. I find that I sometimes get a very tight left butt and hip (because my longer left leg causes tention on this side) and this has helped to remove that pain. Using a foam roller also removes knots from the butt which is where we store alot of stress in our bodies.

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