Take the Side Plank Pose for Scoliosis Challenge!

by Nina

After reading Baxter’s post on Friday (see Friday Q&A: How to Practice Side Plank Pose for Scoliosis?) and talking with my chiropractor, who is also a yoga teacher, I decided to practice Side Plank pose (Vasithasana) every day for six or more weeks. My chiropractor strongly agreed with Baxter that for the long term, practicing Side Plank pose on just one side was not a good idea and said that to maintain the benefits, a person would need to practice indefinitely. So I’ll be doing it exactly as Baxter suggested in his post, twice on my convex side (the left side for me) and once on my concave side (my right side). And I’m hoping that some of you will join me in taking this challenge, and will report back.

Because I was assessed by my chiropractor on Friday, she’ll be able to see what happens to my curve (and the rest of my spine) when I go back in a month, and in the visits that following after that (if I decide to continue the practice). I’ll report back to you with her observations as well as my own. If you want to join me in the challenge and don’t have someone assessing your curve, you could simply report in on any reduction in pain you are experiencing or any other differences you are noticing—or not—on a week-by-week basis.

Obviously since I’m writing this, I have scoliosis. I briefly mentioned it in my post Late-Onset Scoliosis is Common in Older Adults because I had myself had developed late-onset scoliosis. But I didn’t say much more than that. (By the way, if you haven’t read that post and are having back problems—or even hip or leg problems—and have never been tested for scoliosis, please do read it because there is a possibility you might have the condition.) So I’d like to take a few moments to tell you more about it, so you’ll understand why I’m motivated to take on this challenge, and also why I see a chiropractor regularly.

Although my scoliosis is fairly mild and doesn’t cause me back pain (it is a levoscoliosis, in my lumbar spine, rotating to the left), it does cause my right hip to be higher than my left and also causes that hip to rotate in more than the left hip. The result is my legs are imbalanced, with one leg being shorter than the other. If left untreated, I develop leg pain, outer knee pain, and eventually a limp. I have also developed mild arthritis in my right hip as a result of imbalance, which has limited my mobility in my right hip joint (see Goodbye, Lotus Pose).

Although I cannot reverse the scoliosis or my arthritis, I do work on strategies for maintaining my physical health. I keep exercising all my joints through their range of motion to keep them as healthy as possible (I’d like to delay as long as possible the need for a hip replacement). Yoga has been an immense help to me in this because it is so multi-dimensional in the way you are able to move your body in the asanas (see Range of Motion: Yoga's Got it Covered!). I also get regular chiropractic adjustments from a chiropractor who is also a yoga teacher. After an adjustment, my legs are the same length, my leg pain is gone, and I can walk well. The adjustment is only temporary, as the scoliosis is still there and my hip returns to its original imbalanced position over time, but regular adjustments keep me walking well and pain free.

So it was in this context that my chiropractor and I decided together that it would be a great idea for me to practice Side Plank pose, twice on the convex side and one on the concave side, to see what would happen. We’re so curious and excited! Will this practice help reduce my curve and keep my leg and hip in a healthier alignment? And it’s wonderful for me to be able to do this experiment with a health professional I trust—and who also knows a lot about yoga—assessing me through the process, Dr. Claire-Marie Holman. 

So who wants to join me? If you’re interested, please leave a comment on this post stating your intention to practice. Or, you can leave a comment over on our Facebook page  on the post there that links to this one. See Friday Q&A: How to Practice Side Plank Pose for Scoliosis? for details about how to practice the pose. Although I won’t post weekly on the blog about my experiment, I will post and update in another four weeks after my first assessment. However, I will post weekly on Facebook to report in that I have practiced, so if you join me on Facebook, you can report in there weekly as well, and we can all chat in the comments about how the experiment is going. (And, of course, if you do start practicing regularly and Side Plank Pose causes you pain or any bad side effects, please do stop.)

I look forward to hearing from you!

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