• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Pilates Studio
  • Scoliosis Care
  • Scoliosis Retreat
  • Pilates Teacher Training
  • Book Here
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
Spiral Spine

Spiral Spine

Scoliosis Care and Pilates Studio, Brentwood Tennessee

  • Home
  • PILATES STUDIO
      • spiral spine Pilates studio

        Visit our Brentwood, Tennessee studio offering group and private Pilates lessons for all populations and Balanced Body Pilates teacher training.

        Start Here

        Book a class

        MEET OUR STAFF

        READ ERIN'S STORY

      • Pilates teacher training

        Turn your love of Pilates into a career. Train at Spiral Spine Pilates, a host site for Balanced Body, the most recognized name in Pilates around the world.

        balanced body
        pilates teacher training

  • Scoliosis Resources
      • SS_Logo_scoli

        You can live a quality, pain-free life. The solution is simple, the results are life changing.

        START HERE

        SCOLI CARE AT SPIRAL SPINE

        VIRTUAL LESSONS

        SCOLIOSIS STORE

        SCOLIOSIS RETREAT

        READ ERIN'S STORY


      • Affected by scoliosis? These short, free videos will teach you some basic concepts, including pad placement and diagramming.

        starting point
        video series

  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Take Pilates
  • Pilates Teacher Training
  • Scoliosis Retreat
  • Home
  • Book A Class
  • Pilates
    • Start Here
    • Our Staff
    • Meet Erin
  • Pilates Teacher Training
  • Scoliosis
    • Start Here
    • Virtual Lessons
    • Scoliosis Retreat
    • Scoliosis Store
  • Blog
  • Contact

Common types of scoli: Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis

March 25, 2018

This blog is part of the Analyzing Scoliosis series, which is designed to teach movement practitioners how to work confidently with clients with scoli. The first post discussed the typical scoli body. My book, Analyzing Scoliosis, which covers the topics in this series (as well as others) in more depth, is available on Amazon.

While there may be no typical scoliosis body, there are common types of scoliosis. If you can learn the characteristics of these common forms, chances are good that you’ll be able to work with almost any scoliosis client that comes your way.

More often than not, when people talk about scoli, Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) is what they’re referring to. It’s extremely common—an estimated 2-3% of the population has it [1]. In fact, my guess is that most of the scoliosis clients you’ll see will have an AIS diagnosis. They will likely be female. Scoli affects more girls than boys, and the chasm between the two sexes becomes much wider with the increase of age and of curvature [2]. This also means females are more likely to have a more severe curve, and that likelihood increases as they get older.

What is an AIS diagnosis?

If scoliosis is found in someone between 10 and 18 years old, it is called adolescent scoliosis. In the medical world, “idiopathic” simply means the disease has no known cause. So, AIS is simply scoliosis that appeared in a person of a certain age and there was no obvious trigger.

Let’s be honest though—every curve has a cause. AIS is simply a descriptor of the current condition of someone’s spine, but obviously it doesn’t give any clues as to what actually caused the lateral curve in their spine (more information on potential causes of AIS can be found here).

What does AIS look like?

Characteristics of AIS include loss of spinal flexibility and rigidity [3]. You will also see muscle asymmetry in your AIS clients, but it’s important to note that the imbalances aren’t the cause of the scoli [4].

In addition, the spine usually takes the form of a backward letter “S,” with a curve in the thoracic spine going to the right and a curve in the lumbar spine going to the left. Sometimes there are a few extra curves below or above the main backwards “S.” The curves are accompanied by spinal rotation. I think of the vertebral rotation as a spiral, going up and down the whole spine, hence why I call it a “spiral spine.” However, even within AIS diagnoses, curves can present themselves in different ways with different people.

Since one of the curves is usually in the ribcage and there is spinal rotation, you’ll often see one side of the ribcage stick out further than the other on a client’s back. This is a widening of the space between the ribs. Often that widening is accompanied by bone remodeling where the vertebrae and ribs actually change shape slightly due to the uneven loading between the left and right sides of the body. The medical world refers to this as a “rib hump.”

Now that I’ve taught you that term, I have to add this side note—I cringe whenever I hear that phrase. Words are powerful, and too often these insensitive-sounding medical terms can negatively affect the person with scoli, whether they realize it or not. To lessen the emotional blow of talking about their condition, I simply refer to that part of their body as “the side that sticks out more in the back.” It may seem small and insignificant, but the way you phrase things can make a difference in your client’s perception of his or her own body.

How do you work with someone with AIS?

Clients with AIS need to move. Physical exercise is important during growth to delay or prevent the need for bracing and/or to keep the scoliosis under 30 degrees. Physical exercise will positively influence breathing function, strength, and postural balance, further helping your client.

Pilates is often perfect for people with AIS, and aligns well with how they need to move. To illustrate how great a fit it is, I’ll close with this anecdote:

A woman named “Sarah”, who had AIS, told me her doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, arguably the most esteemed hospital in the world, said to “make Pilates her way of life” in order to treat her scoli.

If that isn’t a great endorsement for Pilates, I don’t know what is. I will pick up next time with another common type of scoli. In the meantime, I hope you’ll share your thoughts in the comments section.

 

Sources List
1 “National Scoliosis Foundation, Information and Support.” National Scoliosis Foundation, http://www.scoliosis.org/info.php. Accessed September 2017.
2 Konieczny, Marcus, Senyurt, Husseyin, and Krauspe, Rudiger. “Epidemiology of Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis.” Journal of Children’s Orthopaedics, vol. 7, no.1, 2013, pp. 3-9.
3 Hawes, Martha. “The Use of Exercises in the Treatment of Scoliosis: an Evidence-based Critical Review of the Literature.” Pediatric Rehabilitation, vol. 6, no. 3-4, 2003, pp. 171-182.
4 Azegami, H., Murachi, S., Kitoh, J., Ishida, Y., Kawakami, N., and Makino, M. “Etiology Of Idiopathic Scoliosis. Computational Study.” Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, vol. 357, 1998, pp. 229-236.

Related Posts

  • Common types of scoli: Functional Scoliosis

    This blog is part of the Analyzing Scoliosis series, which is designed to teach movement…

  • Common types of scoli: Functional Scoliosis

    This blog is part of the Analyzing Scoliosis series, which is designed to teach movement…

  • When do you work with a scoli client?

    This blog is part of the Analyzing Scoliosis series, which is designed to teach movement…

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

The Beautiful Scoliotic Back

BUY NOW

Analyzing Scoliosis

BUY NOW

I Have Scoliosis; Now What?

BUY NOW

Untwisting Scoli: Maya

 Amazon | Balanced Body

Scoli Journal

BUY NOW

 

Spiral Spine App

Download For iPhone 
Download for Android

Pilates Gear and Resources – 5% Discount

Footer

Our Pilates Studio

1804 Williamson Ct., #106 & 107
Brentwood, TN 37027
615-891-7118

What we’re up to

spiral_spine

That’s a wrap! What fabulous ladies to do a priv That’s a wrap! What fabulous ladies to do a private @balancedbody Mat 3 training with. #spiralspine #pilates #pilatesteachertraining #pilatesinstructortraining #nashvillepilates #pilatesinstructor #pilatesteacher #balancedbody
Happy National Scoliosis Month! There’s no bette Happy National Scoliosis Month! There’s no better way to kick of this month than talking about all thing scoli on @localon2live . Here are my top tips after your initial diagnosis:
*
1. Take a deep breath. You don’t have to make a decision this moment about bracing or surgery. Get a few other opinions and try out a few different kinds of practitioners.
*
2. No emotional decisions. When you get emotional, you can make life-long decisions that are irreversible or have long-term negative effects. 
*
3. Do your research. I’ve done TONS of research over the last two decades and have put it all in my latest book I Have Scoliosis; Now What? 📖 I have almost 500 research references in there! Once you know what research says, then you can make the best decision for you on how to move forward with your scoliosis.
@larissawohl @thelauraschweizer 
#scoliosis #spiralspine #scoliosisawareness #scoliosisawarenessmonth #scoliosisexercise #scoliosissurgery #scoliosiswarrior #scoliosisstrong #scoliosisbrace #bentbutnotbroken
Reposted (I’m on Local Live on 2 Live today!) • @localon2live TODAY: Musicians, mermaids and music festivals 👏🏻💜 join us for all that and so much more!

💜 @joebreezyradio 
💜 @mer_cademy 
💜 @1hotel.nashville 
💜 @spiral_spine 
💜 @coltondixonmusic 
💜 @chuckwicks 

We’ll see you LIVE at 2p on @wkrntv
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Quick Links

  • Book a Pilates Class
  • Virtual Lessons
  • Scoliosis Retreat
  • Scoliosis Care
  • Pilates Studio
  • Pilates Teacher Training

Copyright © 2023 · Spiral Spine

Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Disclaimer