Scoliosis is a condition that causes your spine to curve sideways, which creates an S- or C-looking shape. As a result, your ribs will stick out farther on one side of your body, while one shoulder blade will appear bigger. You can correct your spine’s shape by doing certain exercises. However, you need to combine them with braces, a service scoliosis Spring Valley specialists will provide.
With that out of the way, it is time to identify good exercises for your scoliosis. Here are five you can try below.
Side Plank
To do a side plank, lie on either side with your legs straight and stacked on each other. Next, support your weight on your elbow and try maintaining the stance for 15-60 seconds. If you do not want to remain stationary for too long, you can switch it up by doing side plank dips and side plank rotations.
This routine straightens muscles in the lower back, abdomen, and spine. If you do it regularly (10-20 seconds daily), your backbone should gradually straighten.
Upward and Downward Dog
In this routine, you adopt a plank position with your arms stretched out while pushing your hips back. Remain in this position for 2 seconds and lower your hips toward the floor. Challenge yourself to go as low as possible.
The exercise helps to alleviate the spinal strain by lengthening the spine while distributing your body’s weight to the legs. Besides eliminating spinal strain, you will also enjoy increased flexibility with time. Consider using extension ropes if you want an easy time doing this routine. Thanks to them, you will not struggle as much as you push your hips back. All you must do is ensure they are high up the legs as possible.
Bird Dog Stretch
First, be on all fours in the tabletop position. As you stretch one arm forward, push one leg backward. Remain in this stance for a few seconds and perform 2-3 sets of 8-12 repetitions.
While doing this exercise, do not rotate your pelvis. Next, ensure your spine is neutral and engage your core to prevent sagging of your back.
Pelvic Tilt
This exercise helps to strengthen your abdominal muscles. To do it, lie flat on your back with your knees bent. Gently rock your hips toward your head and keep your legs suspended for a few seconds. Ensure you do 5-10 reps.
When some people do pelvic tilts, they forget to breathe. If you do not breathe, your muscles will not receive enough oxygen, making them not perform properly.
Some people think that exercises could worsen your scoliosis. This thinking is understandable since it is sometimes not advisable to do them when you get certain illnesses. However, if you want to recover from it, do any of these exercises regularly, and you will be pleased with the results. Your spine will resume a normal shape as long as you combine exercises with other forms of treatments.
Besides straightening your spine, you will enjoy other benefits such as reduced pain, decreased stress, and improved circulation of nutrients.