scoliosis and running

[Deleted User]

Hi everybody, have you ever been diagnosed with scoliosis ? or do you know somebody who has it?
If so i would like to hear from you, as i think i might have scoliosis.

Is there any treatment for this condition, i have heard physio does not really help!
Is there any cure?

How does scoliosis affect running? will it stop my career!??

Any posts are greatly appreciated.

Thanks Jonathan Corry.

Flipper

I'm an osteopathic student and see loads of patients in clinic with scoliosis, most of who have no idea they have it!

Is it stopping you from doing something or is it causing you pain?

[Deleted User]

Hi Flipper thanks for your reply, i had alot of back pain about 5 years ago so i went to a chiropractor, I had tried physio and all before going to him and nothing seemed to help.

The chiropractor took a few x-rays and told me i had scoliosis. I wasnt sure weather to believe him or not, as i couldnt make head or tail or the x-ray. I went to him for about 2 years then coz i went to uni in england i stopped going. My back was ok for a while untill I hurt it (more a muscle strain to be honest)playing footy over the summer and havent been right since. I had acupuncture, and visitied an osteopath and a physio, and now ive gone back to the chiropractor. I know the physio didnt help, so its really down to the chiropractor and osteopath, just dont know who is doing the right thing for me anymore.

My friends have suggested another osteopath but im scared of just making it worse jumping from 1 person to another.

The 1st osteopath didnt think i had scoliosis, and the 2nd one said it was slight. The chiropractor i go to at the minute thinks i need to see him once a week at £25 a go..ouch..

Im not in a lot of pain at the minute, any pain i do have is around my S.I joint at the top of my pelvis. Other than that im just very aware that my hip tends to drop more on 1 side, and my left shoulder looks smaller and more rounded, also think my ribs sit up abit, on the left side.

Thanks

Flipper

Nightmare! Sounds like you're being passed from pillar to post without much progress being made. I can see why forking out £25 for regular treatments is not appealing!

It certainly sounds like your problems are musculoskeletal related which is right up osteo/chiro street. I always think recommendations are the best way to go and if someone you know has had success with a practitioner, whether it be physio, chiro or osteo I would certainly consider it. If you have private healthcare could they maybe cover the treatment?

I don't know where you're based, but maybe look in to having treatment at one of the teaching schools as it works out ALOT cheaper.

I'm sorry I can't be much help.

[Deleted User]

Hi Flipper thanks for your advice!! I hope to get to the bottom of it someday. When ive told family i think i have scoliosis they look at me as if i have two heads, and dont think there is anything wrong with me...fustrating. I live in Northern Ireland, so im not sure if we have any osteo training schools, i konw there are a few physio 1s, physio has never really helped though!!

I have access to a limited amount (£120) of physio/chiro/osteo treatment via private healthcare my work got for us but unfortunately it has run out for this year, and it hasnt started again yet!!

Do you think a chiropractor is better than an osteopath ..or vice versa!??

[Deleted User]

Hi Jonathan,

I was diagnosed with mild scoliosis after having an MRI scan a few years ago, having been suffering from back pain (got the MRI on private healthcare though!). It hasn't stopped me from running - recently did a 10 mile run - although I did have a bad back for about 1 week afterwards which wasn't good (but I suspect that may have been more due to lack of training than anything else!). Obviously having scoliosis, however mild, does affect things because the muscles on one side have to work harder than the other but it really isn't that freaky - as flipper said lots of people have it mildly without even realising.

I do however notice that one hip is very slightly higher that the other and the most annoying thing is that one trouser leg gets dunked more in puddles / dirt whist the other is clean!!

I saw a physio for my probs, but don't think that helped much apart from to give me core stability excercises to do...What has helped me is keeping active and trying to maintain a good posture whether sitting, standing or running.

Sorry if this hasn't helped much, but just to reassure you - you're not alone. I hope you get the help you need soon & start to feel better.

C

[Deleted User]

Hi Claroo, thanks for your post. Its good to know im not the only one that has something wrong!!. I agree with you about the physios, the last 2 i saw give me the exact same thing to do-core stability exercises, ok i suppose if your spine is in correct position. Thanks for putting a light side to it, i had to laugh when you said that one trouser leg gets dunked more in puddle while the other stays clean.

Im dying to get back out there for a run..aaahh

[Deleted User]

Yes, well I was a bit mortified then my orthopaedic consultant first mentioned scoliosis...he took one look at me standing up(without seeing the MRI) and was able to diagnose it. That said, nobody else would ever notice it - the only reason I do is due to the trouser issue (which incidentally I'd never even noticed before I found out about the scoliosis!). I ended up seeing a physio for about 9 months, but strangely my back improved massively when I stopped seeing her :-).
Bearing in mind that I wasn't able to sit down/walk/sleep without pain for months on end, I'm pleased to say that I rarely get back pain at all these days without really doing anything... it just seemed to improve on its own after a period of time. That said, I'm not exactly a serious runner! Hopefully it won't affect your running ambitions too much...

[Deleted User]

Jonathan and Claroo

I would suggest that your diagnoses of scoliosis is a load of bollocks. I was diagnosed as having scoliosis 15 yrs ago and this was crap. You both mention having one hip higher than the other - I have this too. I was diagnosed as having one leg longer than the other for years, and this was wrong too. Eventually I suffered a prolapsed disc and was lucky to escape without surgery, it was agony tho.
It turns out that the cause of my problems is a twisted pelvis (possibly caused by a childhood skiing accident). This caused a *functional* leg length difference and the curved spine symptoms. Despite all this, I am back to running after a 10 year lay-off.

So, genuine scoliosis is possible, but rare. A small leg length difference is common, but rarely is it large enough to cause problems. It's easy for a good practitioner to check. If thats negative, a twisted pelvis is likely.

Trouble is, hardly any practitioners/consultants seem to know any of this stuff. I saw loads and got a different diagnosis for each.
My advice is to keep trying different people until you find one that sounds like they're talking sense. Do some research so you can tell if they're talking sense. I had most success with physio's, most chiropractors talk a load of mumbo jumbo.
This is my opinion from personal experience.

[Deleted User]

hmmm..wouldn't say my diagnosis was a 'load of bollocks'! It was diagnosed by an extremely reputable consultant at a top private London hospital. I can clearly see the problem on my own Xrays/MRI.
As far as I'm aware, scoliosis can be ideopathic (no known cause) or can be caused by other factors, one being degenerative changes in the spine (someone medical might like to correct me).
Just because the original 'trigger' is something else, doesn't mean you can't have scoliosis.

Just putting in my 2 pence worth anyway!

[Deleted User]

Scoliosis generally develops in childhood, although if it is mild you may not get any painful symptoms until adulthood. You may well have it, all I am saying is don't discount other possible causes for a curved spine.
BTW, I am never impressed by "extremely reputable consultant at a top private London hospital", private consultants are always very quick to suggest expensive operations that are not always the best first option for the patient

[Deleted User]

Cheers Stu. However, I don't think I said you had to be impressed by the 'extremely reputable consultant at a top private London hospital" statement.. just in my case this guy was highly recommended & made, in my view, the correct diagnosis (there were indeed other factors in my childhood that caused my scoliosis).

Rug 19

Flipper-where are you studying?

I'm an osteopathic student at Oxford-Brookes.

Some the advice given on the forum is quite scary isn't it!

Jonathan-i think Flipper's advice is good-find an osteopath who has experience with runners (& runs themselves?) and is able to reassure you and who you can relate to.

[Deleted User]

Thanks for your posts guys and girl well i at least i think claroo is a (girl)! Im thinking of giving another osteopath a go, one my friend recommended. I have an appointment with on G.P next week so was going to ask him for a full back x-ray, i think this would show enough up with having to go for an MRI, if not i can always try for MRI at a later stage.

I had an xray taken in november, but it was just of my lumber spine and all it showed was a slight Lordosis.

The chiropractor took an x-ray years ago, but im sure it wouldnt be as good as the one in a hospital. perhaps i do have a wrong diagnoses. GPs are hard to talk to as well, my own GP was off last week and i saw a stand in doc, when i said scolosis to him he looked at me as if i had to heads!!

[Deleted User]

Claroo - if you're happy, thats fine. You can understand that I am a bit agrieved with the various mis-diagnoses that I have had over a period of 10 years and the various quacks that claim to be back experts. I still think the 'scoliosis' diagnosis is a cop out in many cases, but perhaps you could read "take with a pinch of salt" instead of "load of bollocks"!

Rug 19

A GP probably won't readily x-ray for a diagnosis of a structural scoliosis unless there are other indications.

Unless you really want to keep your GP in the loop i would just go and see an osteopath. He/she will explain the signicance of having this lateral curvature of the spine and what type you may have and what the most important points are (progressively worsening pain etc) and thus what his treatment strategic will be and generally what objective improvements you should experience realistically short and medium term.

I reckon.

Flipper

Great to meet a fellow student on here! I'm studying at the British School of Osteopathy and yeap, It's frightening reading some of the things people get up to on here (but highly entertaining!) )

I will probably get shot down in flames for this but I honestly can't say I would recommend osteopathy over chiropractic or vice versa. I reckon if you find a manual therapist who works for you then that's all that matters. There are good and bad of everything so trust your instincts and unfortunately you may need to try several out before you find one that works (but believe me - it's worth it!). Try not to give up on them too quickly as sometimes these things take time and it is so easy to jump ship before giving it a chance.

As for this "mumbo jumbo" comment - everyone is different. If you have had a scoliosis since childhood then IMHO it is likely your tissues have adapted around it so anybody coming along and tampering with it is gonna potentially cause further problems.

Rather than worrying about what looks "odd" maybe try focusing more on what it's stopping you from doing. If your SI joint is hurting when you run then there could be numerous reasons why this is but this may not necessarily due to your scoliosis. How are you at stretching your gluteals and hamstrings? How are your arches? Are you breathing diaphragmatically? Of course, it could be due to your scoliosis as well but maybe try thinking a little bit wider and trying to adjust small things in your training that might help take the burden off your tissues which are already working hard to compensate for the scoliosis.

I've just realised I've rabbitted on for ages without actually saying anything constructive! Ah well!

Rug 19

We don't really learn much chiropractic philosophy so it would be up to the chiro students out there to 'sell' their perspective.Personally i would go to an osteopath (who is also a runner), but the approaches do differ between osteopaths and the overlap between chiropracters/osteopaths is widely recognised.
Finding a therapist who you feel comfortable with helps massively i agree.

Good luck with the study.
May see you in team osteopath one day?

[Deleted User]

hello
I am surprised no one has mentione developing core muscle strength yet on here to help with chronic back pain, whatever its cause

and flipper-what you say makes a LOT of sense

I see lots of people with mild scoliosis(im a kidney specialist) who have no pain at all, and get on with life just fine

I do think that running makes us expect more form our bodies

[Deleted User]

whoops thay have-but in a derogatory sense-must be my selective reading

Core stability is vital for runners in IMHO

Rug 19

Agreed PH!

[Deleted User]

I wouldnt go to any therapist who wasnt an ultra runner actually(i take THAT long to do maras)

you have to tailor the therapist to the individual-and it gets more important in sporty types

mind you, i am sure a professional osteo or chiro would themselves ask for a second opinion from another colleauge in specialist cases-i know i do as a medical doc

[Deleted User]

and Physios too

[Deleted User]

Oops...didn't mean to be derogatory about core stability - hugely important of course :-). However, this may sound obvious (and it is!) but doing the excersises correctly is vitally important otherwise you can make the problem worse...as I'm sure I did.

[Deleted User]

of course buney, of course-it was just chiro and osteo got mentioned on here


Claroo-very true indeed

did your phys not show you how to do em?

[Deleted User]

yeah she spent many an hour showing me & in fairness to her she was great! I just never felt like I improved at them :-(. I remember an exercise where I had something that looked like a whoopee cushion under my lower back attached to a pressure monitor that had to remain static. I used to dread it cos even after 9 months practise I only had to think of doing the excercise and the pressure guage would shoot up!!! I think the poor girl despaired..

[Deleted User]

blimey that sounds technical

[Deleted User]

Hi Flipper I have high arches, and stretch hamstrings and glutes on a regulary basis, even if im not running. I do my best to stretch as much as possible. As for core work...well my back gets sore doing situps and crunches..and i am doing them correctly, even invested in a gym ball. Im only going to GP really to get xrays and MRI scan. Perhaps also for some support if i do have scolosis. I havent had it since i was a kid, most of my back trouble started when i was about 20, im now 26..think it first came on coz of high mileage and wrong running shoes...i have learnt from this!!

[Deleted User]

Can a twisted pelvis give a person scoliosis?? but how do i know if its my pelvis or spine that is giving me the trouble? Get pelvis examined 1st of all, and if still have pain then its scoliosis!?

This might explain why i may have scoliosis, coz during the summer i was taking free kicks like beckham does, then a few weeks later i had back trouble...so over twisting my pelvis to take free kicks has perhaps give me the impression of having scoliosis??

and most of my pain has been in and around my S.I joints...

I went to the chiropractor years ago, and he told me i had scolosis, but it did get better after spending a fortune going to see him i even managed a P.B. in 10k in 2002..37.58 :-) perhaps i had a twisted pelvis at the start of it all. Best to check with osteopath or chiropractor i think...

Rug 19

Plodding Hippo-what is your opinion/experience of osteopaths?

[Deleted User]

Rug

Limited really, and variable


mostly anecdotes

See, im not a sports specialist, and i have not been to an osteo myself