Which muscles are weak in scoliosis? - Studybuff (2023)

FAQs

Which muscles get weak in scoliosis? ›

quadratus lumborum and m. gluteus medius on the convex side of the spinal curvature appeared to be weaker compared to concave side, and m. erector spine lumbalis and m. multifidus on the concave side of the spinal curvature appeared to be weaker compared to convex side.

The transversospinalis group of muscles are small muscles in between each vertebrae, similar to the intertransversarii. But this group of muscles rotates and extends the spine, contributing to both scoliosis and hyperlordosis.

Neuromuscular scoliosis occurs when another condition that affects the nerves and muscles leads to scoliosis. This is commonly due to muscle imbalance and/or weakness. Common neuromuscular conditions that may lead to scoliosis include cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, or a spinal cord injury.

The researchers refer to the right bulkier muscled side (convex) as being the “weaker side.” While the right side is the longer side of the spinal extensors, it is not necessarily the weaker side.

With most scoliosis cases, the spine will rotate or twist in addition to curving side to side. This causes the ribs or muscles on one side of the body to stick out farther than those on the other side.

As the lungs may shift as a result of the scoliosis, this can create changes in the intra-abdominal pressure causing a downward pressure towards our pelvic floor. This can cause weakness or cause the muscles to work too hard to support our organs (i.e. prolapse can occur).

Muscles are usually tight on both sides of a scoliotic curve. The muscles are lengthened and tight on the convex side (often termed “locked long”) and shortened and tight on the concave side (often termed “locked short”).

The muscles which are usually lengthened in this posture include erector spinae (lumbar part), one-joint hip flexors (iliacus, psoas), and two-joint hip flexors (rectus femoris, tensor fasciae latae).

Strengthening exercises build muscle strength and endurance in your core to slow the progression of the spinal curve and reduce scoliosis-related pain and discomfort.

Hip pain can develop as a scoliotic curve causes the pelvis to tilt unnaturally, resulting in one hip having to support more weight than the other, which means tendons and supportive muscles are being used unevenly and can become sore and painful.

What side do you strengthen for scoliosis? ›

Therefore, exercise therapy should be focused on the concave side to strengthen and recover the atrophied muscles to keep the spine straight. This figure shows how asymmetric weakness provokes scoliosis.

While patients with scoliosis often comment that they have 'one shorter leg,' a practitioner must check whether there is a true leg length discrepancy, as scoliosis is associated with pelvic obliquity and can create the appearance of 'apparent' leg length discrepancy.

If you have scoliosis, tight hamstrings can be caused by irritation or damage to the nerve that travels from the lumbar spine to the hamstring muscles. If this is the case, the hamstrings can become inflamed (causing tightness) and cause pain around the knee.

In some cases of scoliosis, particularly those affecting adults, the bones in the spine compress nearby nerves. In severe cases, this can cause problems such as: back and leg pain. numbness or weakness in the legs.

Repeated extension of your thoracic spine with backbends, gymnastics, high jumps, dance maneuvers (especially in ballet) and certain yoga positions causes vertebrae to rotate further into the scoliosis curve. The force often causes rapid scoliosis progression.

Scoliosis can affect various parts of the body, including the lungs, heart, brain, digestive system, muscles, nervous system, reproductive system and mental health.

Lung Function

The one internal organ most frequently affected by severe scoliosis is the lungs. Severe scoliosis in the thoracic area of the spine (upper back) causes chest wall deformities, which can push the lungs into abnormal, restrictive shapes.

The postural changes that can occur in scoliosis can cause the body to have an unnatural lean to one side, and this can result in the contortion of muscles, the stomach, and organs involved in digestion.

Scoliosis and Potential Urinary Problems

As the nerves in the sacral spine receive/send messages from the brain that the bladder is full or empty, if these nerves are subject to compression caused by the abnormal spinal curvature in the lower spine, this may lead to bladder issues such as urinary incontinence.

In more severe cases, affected nerves could lead to issues with fine motor control, limiting your ability to perform certain tasks. Rarely, it can affect bladder and bowel control.

What muscles are weak in flat back? ›

Muscle Weakness

Addressing flat back syndrome through exercise can restore some of your natural spine curvature. It also prevents the pain associated with pressure on the nerves. Flat back syndrome causes tight hamstrings, weakening of the hip muscles, and weakening of the abdominal muscles.

When we allow our shoulders to round forward (known as kyphosis), our anterior muscles (pectoralis major and minor) become tight due to always being in a shortened state while our posterior shoulder muscles (trapezius, rhomboids, and rotator cuff muscles) become lengthened and weak.

1. Thoracic Erector Spinae group ie Iliocostalis; Longissimus; Spinalis– the main extensor (backward bending) muscle of the thoracic spine, located on either side of the vertebral column. The erector spinae is most massive in the lumbar and thoracic regions.

Core stabilization exercise can be an effective therapeutic exercise to decrease the Cobb angle and improve lumbar muscle strength in adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis.

Latissimus stretch

This stretch can help loosen and strengthen your lat muscles, which may feel tight due to scoliosis. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, slightly bent at the knees. Reach overhead and grab your left wrist with your right hand.

It can become tight on the side of the hip that rotates forward; in a classic “S”-shaped case of scoliosis, where the upper curve goes to the right away from the heart, and the lower curve goes to the left, the right piriformis tends to be tight.

When scoliosis develops in the lower back, the adverse forces are concentrated in that area, so it makes sense that an abnormal lumbar curvature is more likely to cause an excessive amount of pelvic tilt and uneven hips as a result.

Spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal canal, is often paired with adult scoliosis. It causes compression of nerves in the spine, which results in shooting pain, tingling, heaviness, weakness, and numbness in the buttocks and the legs – a cluster of symptoms more commonly known as sciatica.

Why is core strength important for scoliosis? ›

You can think of the core as a brace around the midsection of the body. The stronger the muscle brace, the more stable the spine will be. No need for a hard-plastic brace when you have a strong, natural brace made out of muscle. This means core strengthening exercises particularly benefit people with scoliosis.

While massage therapy for scoliosis cannot fix the underlying cause, medical research has found that it can provide temporary relief from scoliosis pain and other symptoms. There are two primary types of massage that can help: cranial-sacral therapy and deep tissue massage.

So can scoliosis make you taller? No, the condition cannot make you taller; however, a curvature reduction achieved through a proactive treatment approach can help restore a loss of height.

The procedure significantly decreased the unlevelness of the sacral base and significantly reduced the angle of lateral bend. The results suggest that an unlevel sacral base contributes to lumbar scoliosis and that use of a heel lift to level the sacral base in mild cases of lumbar scoliosis can be beneficial.

Stretching each of these muscles specifically, along with basic glute, hamstring, quad, and gastrocnemius stretches, with home stretches can help reduce stiffness and increase flexibility of those affected limbs.

As noted above, scoliosis can limit flexibility/range of movement and create a noticeable muscular imbalance, and these symptoms can be hugely detrimental to one's performance in certain sports.

Fascia is connective tissue and behaves like a spider's web connecting the entire body. When part of that web becomes tight, it can restrict movement and contort the body (hello scoliosis!).

Scoliosis and Neuropathy

Although scoliosis is more closely connected to the function of the CNS, in severe forms of scoliosis, the connection between the CNS nerves and the PNS nerves can also be affected.

Children with neuromuscular scoliosis usually do not experience any pain from the condition. Most children with neuromuscular scoliosis have poor balance and poor coordination of their trunk, neck, and head. Neuromuscular scoliosis can lead to thoracic insufficiency syndrome.

Cardiopulmonary & Sensation Disruptions: Severe cases of idiopathic scoliosis can cause severe symptoms such as trouble with respiration and circulation.

How do you fix back muscle imbalance from scoliosis? ›

Mild scoliosis is often managed simply with exercise, medical observation, scoliosis-specific physical therapy, and chiropractic treatment from a chiropractic scoliosis specialist. For some people with scoliosis, yoga or pilates is also recommended to decrease their pain level and increase flexibility.

Don't Perform Torso Extensions (Scoliosis exercises to avoid) Repeated extension of your thoracic spine with backbends, gymnastics, high jumps, dance maneuvers (especially in ballet) and certain yoga positions causes vertebrae to rotate further into the scoliosis curve.

Strength training, as a rule, is positive for scoliosis sufferers, as it can help strengthen muscles which support the spine. Caution is needed here, as resistance exercise can exacerbate scoliosis if performed improperly.

General exercise alone has not been shown to reduce scoliosis, but scoliosis-specific exercises that are customized to a patient with a fair amount of flexibility in their spine, can have the ability to help reduce a small curve.

In terms of sleeping position, the best position for someone with scoliosis is to sleep flat on their back. The use of pillows to fill the gaps between the back and the mattress help to keep the spine in a straight and neutral position.