To remain upright the center of gravity must remain directly above the center of support your feet. The center of gravity is roughly between the spine at the twelfth rib and the navel. When walking and the body is supported on just one foot, the center of gravity needs to be over the weight bearing foot. There is a much neglected muscle pair that is located in the ideal position to accomplish that task.
The psoas minor
The psoas minor starts/originates on the front of the twelfth thoracic vertebra and first lumbar vertebra one on each side of where the diaphragm is attached. It is just in front of the psoas muscle which is the principle muscle for lifting the leg when you walk but the psoas minor is not attached to the leg instead it is attached to the pelvis right above the hip socket. It is described as having the action of bending the spine forward and to the side and helping to lift the front of the pelvis. That does not adequately describe its function in daily life. By shortening on the side where the foot is supporting the body and lengthening on the other it assists in moving the center of gravity ove the hip socket that is bearing the weight. That has the effect of making a small scoliosis in the spine at the thoracic lumbar junction. With proper reflexes this scoliosis reverses when the other foot is carrying the weight. This constant reflex not only helps you to balance as you walk but is very healthy for the spin because the movement sucks fluid from the bone above and below into the disc between the vertebra keeping them inflated. The discs will bulge out and be damaged around the rim if they are not fully inflated just like the tires on your car.
Why would the scoliosis reflex get stuck on one side?
A small injury one one side of your body can inhibit the reflex to move the center of gravity to the other side. If you are carrying more weight on one side than the other one side may bi facilitated to keep the center of your body to one side to keep the center of gravity in the correct place. The protective reflex pattern over time can become fixed programming in your nervous system preventing the normal variation to center weight over support. The spine then develops a reflex to bend the spine above in the opposite direction to bring the center of weight back where it should be. The neck then has to bend sideways to keep the head upright. With all thes extra reflexes happening it gets more and more difficult to change any one of them with out causing pain in another reflex.
Why does my doctor call my scoliosis idiopathic?
Because the doctor is and idiot. Don't take offence it simply means I do not know. Even the best experts in correcting scoliosis will not know the cause of your particular scoliosis without spending some time exploring the reflexes associated with your movement pattern. Eventually what caused you to alter your reflexes my become apparent. If the original cause no longer exists, building more appropriate reflexes the problem may go away and we will never know what started it.
How should non functional scoliosis be treated?
Your doctor /therapist team should be helping you build more appropriate movement reflexes. Change may cause new pains. Pain is the body's message to your conscious mind that something needs to be done different. Therefore each pain should be explored and what to do different discovered. Because every person is different You will need a team to individualize your plan. Do not be satisfied with wait and watch and when it gets bad enough do surgery.
Cant you give me any suggestions that will help me right now?
Yes. At the beginning I mentioned that the diaphragm has an attachment between the two psoas minor muscles. Lay on your back where comfortable . Then try to breath deep and slow with the diaphragm. As you do so explore your abdomen and chest with your hands for any tight or painful spots . Each time you breath in and out try to adjust your position slightly to make those spots better. You may need to focus on breathing in on one side and out on the other. You may need to change the position of your arms and legs as well as your spine.
Only you can cure your scoliosis. Anyone else is just a coach to help you find the way.
Do not ask to make it go away. Ask instead teach me the way to make work as it should or at lest as good as possible in my circumstances. If you have pain ask how to do it differently so that it can repair and only report pain when there really is danger. Other pages on this site may help find and change reflexes that are causing you pain. I am available by the contact form on the home page.