OBJECTIVE:

To evaluate the effectiveness of Pilates with regard to the degree of scoliosis, flexibility and pain.

METHOD:

The study included 31 female students divided into two groups: a control group (CG = 11), which had no therapeutic intervention, and an experimental group (EG = 20), which underwent Pilates-based therapy. We used radiological goniometry measurements to assess the degree of scoliosis, standard goniometry measurements to determine the degree of flexibility and the scale of perceived pain using the Borg CR 10 to quantify the level of pain.

RESULTS:

The independent t test of the Cobb angle (t = - 2.317, p = 0.028), range of motion of trunk flexion (t = 3.088, p = 0.004) and pain (t = -2.478, p = 0.019) showed significant differences between the groups, with best values in the Pilates group. The dependent t test detected a significant decrease in the Cobb angle (Δ% = 38%, t = 6.115, p = 0.0001), a significant increase in trunk flexion (Δ% = 80%, t = -7.977, p = 0.0001) and a significant reduction in pain (Δ% = 60%, t = 7.102, p = 0.0001) in the EG. No significant difference in Cobb angle (t = 0.430, p = 0.676), trunk flexion, (t = 0.938p = 0.371) or pain (t = 0.896, p = 0.391) was found for the CG.

CONCLUSION:

The Pilates group was better than control group. The Pilates method showed a reduction in the degree of non-structural scoliosis, increased flexibility and decreased pain.

Source: PubMed

Natural Wellness and Pain Relief Centers of Michigan - Results, naturally | Flint, Grand Blanc, Genesee County Bio-Identical Hormones, Scoliosis, Autism, Fibromyalgia, and Chiropractic

April 13, 2012

Grand Blanc, MI - When most people think of non-surgical scoliosis treatment, they usually talk about bracing around the torso, or performing activities like massage, yoga, stretching, or craniosacral therapy. Now, a local chiropractor has published a book highlighting the a new scoliosis treatment called ARC3D Therapy.

The book, titled “Scoliosis and ARC3D Therapy: Restoring Hope Through Non-Surgical Treatment” is the collective work of Dr. Mark Morningstar, a Grand Blanc chiropractor with a unique perspective on scoliosis treatment. His treatment works with the body, not against it. According to Morningstar, “Conventional scoliosis treatment mainly involves the orthopedic treatment of the spinal curvature, whether by bracing or surgery. In recent years many studies looking at the underlying causes of scoliosis suggest that scoliosis does not start as a spine problem, but likely as a neurological and hormonal disorder that results in the initiation of a spine curvature that perpetuates itself as the patient grows.”

In addition to unique exercises and treatments, Dr. Morningstar uses specific lab testing to predict the potential of a scoliosis progress through genetic testing, called ScoliScore. He also looks at the nutritional status of each scoliosis patient, and works to improve the spine curvature as well as their overall quality of life, pain, and emotional health.

This is Morningstar’s first published book on scoliosis. He has also published several medical studies on scoliosis and his comprehensive approach to scoliosis. “My goal in writing this book is to get parents vital information they may not be getting other places. I want patients and parents alike to understand that there should be a lot more to treating a patient with scoliosis than just straightening the spine. We have to begin to address these other neurological and hormonal deficits if we ever want hope of preventing this disease in the first place.”

Scoliosis and ARC3D Therapy: Restoring Hope Through Non-Surgical Treatment, is available for purchase online through Infinity Publishing, and through online book retailers. Dr. Morningstar has two practices in Grand Blanc and Richmond, MI, where he focuses his practice on neurological disorders and the treatment of scoliosis. He is the developer of the TornadoSuit, an activity suit specifically designed for scoliosis, and currently serves as the President of the International Chiropractic Scoliosis Board. His website is arc3dtherapy.com, or drmorningstar.com.

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Source: FixScoliosis.com

Natural Wellness and Pain Relief Centers of Michigan - Results, naturally | Flint, Grand Blanc, Genesee County Bio-Identical Hormones, Scoliosis, Autism, Fibromyalgia, and Chiropractic

Natural Wellness and Pain Relief Centers of Michigan - Results, naturally | Flint, Grand Blanc, Genesee County Bio-Identical Hormones, Scoliosis, Autism, Fibromyalgia, and Chiropractic

Brace treatment for idiopathic scoliosis in skeletally immature children is the only effective nonoperative modality for the control of curve progression. The Charleston bending brace is a custom-molded spinal orthosis that holds the patient in a completely corrected or overcorrected position while worn at night.A 9-year-old girl presented with 10° right upper thoracic and 7° left lower thoracic curves and was Risser sign 0. Nighttime treatment with a Charleston bending brace was initiated when the left lower thoracic curve progressed to 19°. After 27 months of nighttime brace wear, the lower thoracic curve was 21° to the right. Further investigation, including magnetic resonance imaging of the spine, failed to diagnose an identifiable explanation for this atypical occurrence. Conservative treatment may improve radiographic and cosmetic appearance. Overcorrection of the curve, although not likely, is possible when part-time or nighttime bracing is implemented as a means of conservative management.

Source:  Orthopedics. 2012 Mar 7;35(3):e457-9.

Natural Wellness and Pain Relief Centers of Michigan - Results, naturally | Flint, Grand Blanc, Genesee County Bio-Identical Hormones, Scoliosis, Autism, Fibromyalgia, and Chiropractic

In a study out this month, researchers interviewed a group of patients with idiopathic scoliosis ages 10-17, as well as their parents, to assess the amount of added emotional stress imposed by scoliosis brace treatment. In both the parents and the patients, bracing tended to increase their emotional stress more than simply having the scoliosis.

This study is important because it is essential that physicians fully explain all of the variables involved in scoliosis treatments and the unintended side effects they may cause. This type of research will help patients and their parents make better informed decisions about scoliosis treatments.

Natural Wellness and Pain Relief Centers of Michigan - Results, naturally | Flint, Grand Blanc, Genesee County Bio-Identical Hormones, Scoliosis, Autism, Fibromyalgia, and Chiropractic

Degenerative lumbar scoliosis (DLS) is a spinal deformity that develops after skeletal maturity with a Cobb angle of more than 10° in the coronal plane. As the life expectancy of our population increases, DLS becomes a prevalent health issue affecting the quality of life of the elderly. The degree of the scoliosis curvature affects not only the symptoms but also the choice of treatments. Osteoporosis and intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) have been suggested as two important risks associated with the progression of DLS. Interestingly, recent data implicate interleukin-1 (IL-1) in the altered matrix biology that characterizes human IDD. Compelling evidence links decreased sleep duration to lower bone mineral density (BMD) and elevated expression of IL-1. Based on these evidences, we propose that decreased sleep duration might be a risk of the progression of DLS, and hypothesize that the underlying mechanisms might be the elevated excretion of glucocorticoids and elevated expression of IL-1.

Source: Med Hypotheses. 2011 Nov 25. [Epub ahead of print]

Natural Wellness and Pain Relief Centers of Michigan - Results, naturally | Flint, Grand Blanc, Genesee County Bio-Identical Hormones, Scoliosis, Autism, Fibromyalgia, and Chiropractic

In a new study published in the European Spine Journal, researchers wanted to see if hormone deficiencies were a triggering event for adult degenerative scoliosis, a condition that commonly occurs in postmenopausal women. It is thought that menopausal hormone changes affect bone density, which sets off a cascade of events that leads to degenerative scoliosis.

In this latest study, women given hormone replacement therapy were less likely to develop one of the initiating factors in adult degenerative scoliosis, called lateral listhesis, a rotational displacement of a vertebra.

The occurrence of adult degenerative scoliosis is more common that scoliosis in juveniles or adolescents. Therefore, this research is very important in helping to possibly prevent adult-onset scoliosis in the first place.

One note we would like to add to this however. Bio-identical hormone replacement has far fewer risks involved than conventional hormone replacement therapy, which is made from pregnant horse urine. Synthetic hormone replacement carries with increased risk of certain female reproductive cancers. So please do your homework if you are interested in hormone replacement.

Women who are already developing degenerative scoliosis will likely want a combined treatment approach, one that includes bio-identical hormone replacement and a conservative exercise-based scoliosis therapy like ARC3D to help reverse the scoliosis.

Source: Eur Spine J. 2011 Oct 28. [Epub ahead of print]

Natural Wellness and Pain Relief Centers of Michigan - Results, naturally | Flint, Grand Blanc, Genesee County Bio-Identical Hormones, Scoliosis, Autism, Fibromyalgia, and Chiropractic

Natural Wellness and Pain Relief Centers of Michigan - Results, naturally | Flint, Grand Blanc, Genesee County Bio-Identical Hormones, Scoliosis, Autism, Fibromyalgia, and Chiropractic

NEW Scoliosis Reduction Treatment: The Tornado Suit, not  another brace.

By drsidchiro

Natural Wellness and Pain Relief Centers of Michigan - Results, naturally | Flint, Grand Blanc, Genesee County Bio-Identical Hormones, Scoliosis, Autism, Fibromyalgia, and Chiropractic

Most of my articles are focused on Scoliosis – and, this one is, too – sort of.  But, in the Scoliosis Family Adventures family, I am the only one without Scoliosis, and this article is about ME.  Well, mostly about me.  I also want to talk about Dr. Morningstar and the work we’ve done together to take care of some issues in my neck area that have plagued me most of my life.  When I was about 10, I started having headaches daily.  We could not figure out what was the cause, but I spent many days home from school due to the pain.  I was popping pills every day.  One day, my Mom took me to her chiropractor and, after one adjustment, the headaches were gone.  We had to keep them up periodically, but, for the most part, they were gone.  It was then that we knew that it was my long neck, out of whack from playing the violin from age 4, that would need extra attention as life went on.

Fast forward many years into my adult life and neck issues still plagued me.  I really find value in traditional Chiropractic care, but no solution gave me any long-term structural changes.  My neck would stay in alignment only for short periods of time, only to need frequent adjustments.  It was when I was researching for help for my children’s Scoliosis when I found Dr. Morningstar at the Natural Wellness and Pain Relief Centers of Michigan (see my side bar for a link to their site)  or click here: http://michiganwellnessandpainrelief.com/.  He is a Chiropractor, but I always tell people he’s one-of-a-kind.  I don’t even remember the last time I’ve been adjusted (or that my kids have been adjusted) there because he only adjusts when it’s needed – for the most part, he focuses on long-term changes to the skeletal system.  He uses a system of weighted exercises (called the Pettibon system) plus many of his own inventions, that patients use to re-train their bodies into correct postural alignment.  I was skeptical, of course, but figured we had nothing to lose.

Now, as an Engineer, I know that it’s difficult to prove a theory.  Tests require multiple test subjects and the variables have to be severely limited to be able to pinpoint an exact result from a specific treatment.  Unfortunately, with my kids’ spines being how they are, it’s been difficult to say what in our litany of treatments has been what has been keeping those curves at bay.  I really feel it’s a combination of a masterfully-made brace (by Luke Stikeleather at Orthotic Solutions), muscle building treatments we do at home, and our work with Dr. Morningstar.

However, what I want to share with you today is my x-ray results on my neck and spine, both before and after working with Dr. Morningstar.   I’ve inserted 4 photos below.  The first two focus on my neck.  A person’s neck should not be straight when looking from the side view.  The head should rest above the shoulders and the neck should have a nice forward bend.  The straight line from the head to the shoulders should continue to the pelvis (so, the lower spine should also have a little forward curve).  The first photo shows my neck before and after a couple years of daily weighted treatments.  You can see the drastic improvement in how my neck is aligned.  I did not purposefully put it in this position for the x-ray.  Both times, I sat in a natural position.  The results are amazing.  I still get occasional neck pain and very infrequent headaches, but I find that it coincides with periods of time when I have neglected to wear my Pettibon weights or when I’ve done something like practice violin for a while without stretching or sleep on it funny.  Otherwise, my posture has changed drastically over the course of my work with Dr. Morningstar.  The next two photos focus on my lumbar – you can see that before my side view was the opposite it should be – I was somehow tipped way back (probably the weight of my head falling forward messed up all the way down my spine).  The second photo shows a much more aligned me.  I’m still working on that tiny little forward curve, but am pretty happy with this progress.

Now, the nice thing about sharing my results is that I am one of those test cases where nothing else was at work that would have changed my spine.  Sure, I do yoga and exercises, but I’ve been doing yoga for over a decade – way before my work with Dr. Morningstar.  Nothing else in this aspect of my life changed – just using his treatments.  I know that I am only one case and that one case cannot prove the worth of any treatment, but I can personally attest that this treatment is very much worth trying.  The time commitment is minimal (we live about 1 hour and 15 minutes from his office, so we only go once a month – most of the work is done at home).  I could also go on and on about Dr. Morningstar’s ingenious ideas about Scoliosis, his invention of the Tornado suit (which holds wonderful promise for the future of non-surgical Scoliosis treatments), his dedication to helping all people, but specifically those with Scoliosis.  I could talk about his wonderful staff (we love you, Miss Kat!), and how I feel that throughout his career, some of his out-of-the-box thinking about Scoliosis will revolutionize the metrics used to measure curves and predict success of treatments.  I could talk about all that and more, but, like I said, this article is about ME!  Even if you don’t live near Dr. Morningstar, please contact him – he is working with Doctors all over the country to bring similar solutions to more and more people.  He may be able to recommend someone in your area that can help you or your loved one – with any and all postural difficulties.

Source:  Scoliosis Family Adventures Blog

Natural Wellness and Pain Relief Centers of Michigan - Results, naturally | Flint, Grand Blanc, Genesee County Bio-Identical Hormones, Scoliosis, Autism, Fibromyalgia, and Chiropractic