with Andreas Klein

Scoliosis can cause a lot of back pain . Scoliosis occurs when the spine ( viewed from behind ) is not straight , but instead deviates left or right at one or more points along its length . Very few people have a perfectly straight spine . Most of us will have a very slight amount of deviation here or there , usually without symptoms . There are two main sub-types of scoliosis : functional and structural .

Functional scoliosis occurs when the structure of vertebrae and discs are normal , but a difference in “ functional ” muscle length or tightness occurs between muscles on the left and right sides of the spine act to pull the spine column out of vertical alignment create an abnormal curvature . For example :

1 . The over development &/ or shortening of muscles on one side of the body from : a . playing one sided sports

( golf , tennis , etc ) b . differences in leg length c . altered movement while compensating for chronic or acute pain , or 2 . muscle spasms due to :

a . injury on or around the spine b . altered nerve flow to muscles c . inflammatory conditions , e . g . appendicitis can lead to functional scoliosis . Under such conditions the contracted ( spasming ) muscles on one side of the body pull vertebra away from the midline to produce scoliosis . However , since no structural problem exists , when affected muscles return to normal length through treatment or stretching , scoliosis disappears .

Treating functional scoliosis may be as simple as playing two sided sports or getting an orthotic to even up leg lengths .

However , when muscles have been contracted for a longer period of time , they can become stressed , slightly swollen ( knots ), painful and with their surrounding connective tissue sheaves much shortened .

Such muscles do not simply come back to their ideal length .

Chronically shortened muscles in and around a slightly scoliotic spine can result in continual and excessive ‘ wear and tear ’ to vertebrae and discs , leading to premature degeneration of both .

The result may be eventual disc rupture , or vertebral crush injuries . This

wear and tear happens even from the normal , routine , bending or twisting movements that we do every day .

Many acute back injuries result from accumulation of such small injuries . These chronically weaken vertebral tissue . Then one final trigger , like a heavy lift means trouble . I see many tradies that never needed to have a back injury at all , had they kept their back muscles loose and spine straight .

To allow such chronically shortened muscles to return to optimal length and condition , simple stretching may not be enough . Here ’ s where specific treatments such as ‘ muscle elongation therapy ’ ( MET ) and nutrition as practiced at our clinic can

help . Treatment promotes healing , restoring affected tissue to optimal condition , and helps prevent further injury .

Call the clinic on 0418 166 269 if you would like to learn more .

Next month we will talk about structural scoliosis .