Scoliosis Exercises

The scoliosis specific exercises may be learnt immersion style (in an intensive week of sessions) or more commonly, spread out within a 3-month plan (in line with the principles of motor learning).

In the sessions, you learn how to de-collapse and expand the closed sections of your torso, considering the 3-dimensional requirements (left or right rotations and translations as well as forward or backward translations). The physiotherapist utilizes a variety of cues and techniques to improve shape and then develop the endurance ability to maintain it in both static postures (sitting, standing) and dynamic postures (walking, reaching, lifting and any other activities in your daily life including sports, hobbies, gardening, specific work postures).

You will receive recommendations about workstation set-up, sleeping positions and schoolbag and backpack use.

In our sessions we also address any imbalances in muscle lengths or weaknesses found around the hips and shoulder region. All our physiotherapists are additionally trained in Pilates so we will select from our wide-ranging skill set, which ever exercises we feel are best to achieve your needs and goals.

Supporting you in establishing a regular home exercise routine is important. This is required to ensure the therapeutic effects of the exercises are able to be achieved (stretch of restrictions and strength of specific weakened areas) and habituated into daily activities. Throughout our training, we build up an exercise book full of exercise descriptions and photographs and you will also have on your phone of voice recordings of us coaching you through each exercise, so you may play it at home whilst doing the exercise and have us ‘with you reminding you of the specifics and ensuring you do the exercise to its completion.

We really try to set you up so that you are able to continue with what you have learnt independently at home. Growing adolescents are generally reviewed on-going every 8 weeks for a single session, due to the fact that they are still growing and may need their exercises adjusted accordingly.

Some adults like touching base every 3 months or so to review technique, alter exercises if needed, reassure all is good and support compliance.

In our pre- and post- Covid19 times, we run group sessions every day of the week at a variety of times. Working in a group is a great opportunity to meet others with scoliosis. Psychologically this has great benefits in reducing anxieties and normalising scoliosis – many people have structural scoliosis; however, the many people don’t know the many people! Our group training is a great way to help you stick with your exercises and is fun! You need to speak with your physiotherapist to see if you have covered enough private tuition to see if you are eligible to join the group training.

The immersion style (two 60-90-minute sessions/ day for x5 days in the week) is most suited for our international and interstate clients or for those wishing to learn everything intensively within a single week of their school holidays or annual leave. It is not suitable however for clients who are in high levels of pain, who have adult degenerative scoliosis or who have had past spinal surgeries.

Our practice is still open and treating clients every day. We have been over the moon with how well our Telehealth sessions have been going and we have a great number of clients using this service both locally and interstate.