Scoliosis is a multifactorial disease that is now known to affect the entire body and not just the spine. This book will help you put together the pieces of the puzzle known as scoliosis.

Most scoliosis goes unnoticed during our teenage years unless found by the school nurse during a scoliosis check. Many comments such as "why is your shoulder so high or why is one pants leg always dragging" may still not alert someone to the fact that these are the early postural signs of scoliosis. With the fast pace of modern day society and since scoliosis in young adults may show no signs of pain other than "it’s just growing pains", we again miss the opportunity of detection until adulthood when back pain begins to occur.

X-ray is the final determination of scoliosis. A full spine x-ray should be taken and a measurement of the curve is than done to calculate the number of degrees the spine has curved from normal. Ten or more degrees are than classified as scoliosis. Usually there will be more than one curve and each needs to be measured. If you look closely at the x-ray you should notice that the ribs on one side look different than those on the other. You will also see that the spinal bones look as if they are twisted and they are. You may notice that the vertebrae do not set on top of each other in a straight line and that the spaces between them are wedged or pie shaped. These spaces are where the disc is located. They can not be seen on x-ray because they are not made of bone. A special machine called an M.R.I. is needed to look at them. The M.R.I. does reveal problems with the discs. You should at this time begin to realize that if all this is going on with the bones of the spine, what else that is related to the spine is not being shown on this x-ray.

A little study of the body will make you realize that there are muscles and ligaments holding this spine in its proper alignment. Are these also affected? The answer is yes. If the muscles and ligaments are affected, should not the treatment address them as well as the bones of the spine? Again the answer is yes.

We know there are spinal nerves that emit between the vertebrae (31 pair) and that these are also effected. This is why we feel pain. We learn that everything in the human body is directly or indirectly controlled by the nervous system. This is why we know that many of the other symptoms that the scoliotic is experiencing are due to the scoliotic curve. For example, mood swings, digestive problems, hormone dysfunction among others. We also know that the body works in a chain reaction way, always trying to stay in homeostasis, that is to stay healthy. Certain tests can be performed to check out these functions also.

We also know that all the signals from the body are relayed back to the brain for interpretation. If the brain is getting confused signals and decides that this must be the normal, can we teach it a new normal after we address all these problems. Thankfully the answer is yes.

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