Hi guys. Today I want to talk about scoliosis and what I do to cope with it.  First off, what is scoliosis? According to Wikipedia, scoliosis is a medical condition in which a person’s spine has a sideways curve. I was diagnosed way back in the 4th grade but of course it’s something that you deal with your whole life.. Over the years I have had back problems galore but I’ve found some things that have helped me deal with it.

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To me, one of the most important things you can do is to get a good supportive but not too hard mattress.  For the longest time we had a mattress that my mother in law bought for us when we first got married that was so hard while at the same time not supportive at all that it actually made my back pain worse.  Once it was time to replace it (Oh Happy Day!) we took out time and searched for just the right one. Believe me, it makes a world of difference.

Here are some sites that discuss sleeping positions:

• Livestrong
• The Sleep Advisor
• Treating Scoliosis

The next important thing to do is to get moving. Just like with anything, it’s best to check with your physician before starting any fitness program.  I’ve found, that for myself I need to balance activity that has impact with exercises that lengthen the spine. Both Yoga and Pilates work great for this.  There are books on the subject, as well as classes, video games and workout videos. I have to admit that I might be a little obsessed with exercise videos, particularly ones made by my favorite fitness guru Ellen Barrett.  I first found two of her classes on Netflix, years ago. They were Crunch workouts. Yes, I’m dating myself here. I was completely distraught when they were removed so I just had to do some research on her. Luckily, she’s still instructing and has her own site so please feel free to check it out. 

I’ve also found these sites that have exercises for people with scoliosis:

• Beautiful to the Core
• Hollywood Homestead
• Titanium Chic
• Living with Scoliosis
• Do you Yoga

Most recently though, I’ve been dealing with the ills that come with a desk job.  Being sedentary all day isn’t great for the back. So I started reading up on how to counteract the slouching and I ran across the idea of active sitting.  The least expensive solution I found was a Balance Disc that goes in your office chair. It’s kind of like sitting on a balance ball all day. So far I really like it but I do have to stretch my back throughout the day and move around more.    I’ll update this post in a few months to let you know how it’s going.

Here are some other ideas to deal with sitting all day:

• Get Healthy U
• Also from Get Healthy U
• Refinery29
• Do you Yoga

I’d like to hear what you are doing to cope with scoliosis and back problems in general.  Comment below. I’d love to hear from you! Don’t forget to subscribe to my emails.