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chouinard16
Jun 26, 2007, 9:27 PM
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I have severe scoliosis and sciatica. I was wondering if any of you other women has this deformity and how do you cope with it while climbing?
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slockwoo_knits
Jun 27, 2007, 12:13 AM
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there is a woman in my gym who has scoliosis. I don't think she is on this forum though.
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acacongua
Jun 27, 2007, 1:38 PM
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I have double scoliosis and a rotated neck along with what docs assume is sciatica. It doesn't affect my climbing. Are you having trouble?
The neck though does have problems from belaying. I do strengthening exercises, stretches and try to use a rolled towel or shirt as a cushion for the neck (tuck the ends into your shirt/sports top).
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tigerlilly
Jun 27, 2007, 5:40 PM
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acacongua wrote: The neck though does have problems from belaying. I do strengthening exercises, stretches and try to use a rolled towel or shirt as a cushion for the neck (tuck the ends into your shirt/sports top).
I'm going to try the towel roll! I don't have scoliosis, but sometimes have severe neck pains from years of cycling and that hang gliding, uh, "incident" way back when.
Kathy
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chouinard16
Jun 27, 2007, 7:27 PM
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Yes I have an "S" curve and Sciatica too, I know how ya feel. No it usually doesn't hurt when climbing but once at Stone Mtn NC it hurt real bad because of the type of climb, on the Great Arch. My neck kills me the next day when belaying my boyfriend. It does affect my balance though.
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stonefoxgirl
Jun 28, 2007, 11:48 AM
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Hi,
Ive had Scoliosis my whole life. I have corrected it for the most part and have maintained a normal lifestyle all the while.
I take a lot of time to stretch and get massages. There are Massage Therapists out there that specialize in massage for Scoliosis. And Yoga helps as well. I have been climbing for 7 years and I don't think Scoliosis has held me back any.
Good luck
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acacongua
Jun 28, 2007, 12:46 PM
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chouinard16 wrote: Yes I have an "S" curve and Sciatica too, I know how ya feel. No it usually doesn't hurt when climbing but once at Stone Mtn NC it hurt real bad because of the type of climb, on the Great Arch. My neck kills me the next day when belaying my boyfriend. It does affect my balance though.
Have you looked into treatment? When I threw my back out of commission for the third time in my teens (I was bed ridden for a couple of days), my school nurse directed me to a chiropractor. That with massage therapy over the course of ~14 years has helped tremendously, especially with minimizing the curvature.
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chouinard16
Jun 28, 2007, 8:00 PM
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I was supposed to have surgery when I was 16, but my Dad stopped taking me to the ortho 'cuz he has 3 jobs......anyways the doc said I would be paralyzed by time I'm 30. I'm 23 now and I don't have sufficient insurance where I work so getting help from a doc is almost impossible. Social services have also let me down, they told me I couldn't get medicaid 'cuz I don't have children. So what now? I have to live my life every day in fear that tomorrow I won't be walking. So I just climb and have fun when I can......pray for me that something works out.
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stonefoxgirl
Jun 29, 2007, 11:28 PM
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I am really sorry to hear about this situation. This has to feel like a no win for you but I have to stress the importance of at least trying an alternative to traditional medicine. Massage has really helped me over the years. It took a while to find a specialist but now that I have, I have improved my quality of life on so many levels. I hope that you keep searching and try massage as a therapy. There are people out there that are willing to trade "work" for massage if you can't afford it. I have done yard work, snow removal, babysat for a massage. I really hope you can find the care that you deserve.
Leslie
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clee03m
Jun 30, 2007, 12:18 PM
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chouinard16 wrote: I'm 23 now and I don't have sufficient insurance where I work so getting help from a doc is almost impossible.
I know a lot of people who applied for government jobs because they tend to have the best insurance plans. I know people who applied for postal service jobs or even odd jobs at schools (one perticular for lunch server). Also, there may be help from charity organizations you might want to look into. Most hospitals will perform surgery with financial aid for dire cases. Good luck.
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surgicalfocus
Jul 1, 2007, 2:43 PM
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Try to remember that doctors don't know everything....and that almost all of us has some imbalance and over curvature in the spine. I have a women in my Iyengar yoga class that has a very severe lateral curve in her upper thorax and she has had a practice for years. She is a very active teacher and is well into her 60's and does 2 classes a week. I am sure that this has helped her and I will ask her more about it for you. Look into finding an Iyengar teacher in your area as this is one of the things that Iyengar himself treats people for with yoga and there are a ton of poses that you can do to help with sciatica. Most of all do not give up on your climbing and on the things you want to do.
I wish you luck!
sg
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winglessangel
Jul 10, 2007, 2:16 PM
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I have scoliosis. Had it since I was born, I don't know how severe it is but It can definitely be seen if I'm wearing a bikini or even very tight tops. But I walk straight, most people don't notice it unless I mention.
Never had a problem with that, never felt pain due to it. Working out and sports were always in my life, no prob.
But when I felt on my ass last feb (lowering accident in climbing gym) I broke the vertebraes of the S curves, L1, L2, D7 and D8. Totally a guess here but I would say it happened cause the curve made it harder for the impact force to dissipate.
Just now, after the accident, I was suggested to and accepted the advice to take matter into correcting the problem, once a week I go to psychotherapy to work on it, now THAT hurts, but whatever, hope it works.
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winglessangel
Jul 10, 2007, 2:29 PM
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Forgot to say that, the cases vary. I don't know how severe yours are. If you should have surgery it must be a bad case.
Mine is structural and hereditary, my mother has it too. Hers is big and totally visible, not impossible to miss but definitely a visible large bump on her right upper torso. She is over 50's, not very active, (although she has been in the past) but I never seen her complain of back pain at all. She just feels unconfortable to wear tops with open backs.
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matterunomama
Jul 13, 2007, 3:50 PM
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chouinard16 wrote: . I'm 23 now and I don't have sufficient insurance where I work so getting help from a doc is almost impossible. Social services have also let me down, they told me I couldn't get medicaid 'cuz I don't have children..
I doubt the issue was that you don't have children; childless adults who are disabled are eligible for medicaid.The issue might be that you exceed the income limits for medicaid as a single person. The thing to look into is if you qualify as disabled despite the fact that you work. Ironically, the way to get medical care is sometimes to quit work so that you qualify for medicaid! If you receive SSI you are already qualfied as federally disabled. I know this because I used to be a job placement counselor in an agency that trained handicapped people. It might be worth the hassle to ask social services to reevaluate your eligibility. They may have misinformed you.
The other thing to look into is if there is a state insurance plan that covers low income folks who don't have coverage at their jobs. Here in NY it is called "Healthy NY" and the income limits for a single person are about $25000 a year (thats not a mistype-$2107 a month gross limit).These would be the people who fall between the cracks of being poor enough for medicaid or well-employed enough to have good coverage. This covers even situations like recent college graduates who were dropped off their parents policy and live at home rent free and vacation at the second family home, but have had a job in the last 12 months or have a job now that pays less than 25K/yr. But actually I guess you said you don't have sufficient insurance, not no insurance.
Hope you find a way to work it out if you need medical care. Your case is an excellent case study for the politicians trying to work out some kind of universal coverage right now.
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bigfatrock
Jul 24, 2007, 1:13 PM
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chouinard16 wrote: I was supposed to have surgery when I was 16, but my Dad stopped taking me to the ortho 'cuz he has 3 jobs......anyways the doc said I would be paralyzed by time I'm 30. I'm 23 now and I don't have sufficient insurance where I work so getting help from a doc is almost impossible. Social services have also let me down, they told me I couldn't get medicaid 'cuz I don't have children. So what now? I have to live my life every day in fear that tomorrow I won't be walking. So I just climb and have fun when I can......pray for me that something works out.
This is coming from a guy, but I can't imagine scoliosis being that severe that it would cause paralysis. I also have an S curve scoliosis as well as kifosis in my mid/lower back.
After a recent back injury chiropractors told me I should have gotten it treated early on and it would have been better today. But Yoga has actually helped me quite a bit. I don't know for sure but it has seemed so straighten out the kifosis some.
I would recommend going to another doctor, a good chiropractor and maybe an orthopedic for a second opinion. Maybe your first doc blew things out of proportion or was in kahouts (spelling?) with the back surgeon.
Have some hope! If you saw the x-ray of my back you would wonder how I'm able to stand up straight! :) My scoliosis really doesn't affect my climbing accept for the fact I can't touch my toes so I am less flexible. I can climb 5.10c, but there is a 5.9 at the gym I go to I can't do because it is a huge high step over my limit. I will pray everything works out well for you.
(This post was edited by bigfatrock on Jul 24, 2007, 1:14 PM)
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EPiCJAMES
Sep 9, 2007, 12:33 AM
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chouinard16 wrote: I have severe scoliosis and sciatica. I was wondering if any of you other women has this deformity and how do you cope with it while climbing?
for the scoliosis...
massage therapy helps a lot. manipulating the muscles can pull the spine back into it's correct position, or close to it. you must do this frequently, and maintain it.
for the sciatica...
most likely it's from a bulging disk in your L5. when a disk bulges, it puts pressure on a nerve. the nerve from L5 is what causes sciatica. get an inversion table. the decompress the spine, take pressure of of the discs, and allow a bulging disk to subside.
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climbordie7
Sep 10, 2007, 4:13 AM
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i don't know if i can relate completly but i know i do a little.
i had scoliosis as a kid until i was 13 or so, ever since i had it i have been plagued with severe back pain that will occur from certain movements and wrestling, tackling, fighting, swinging sometimes, and arching my back, it is tough because the guys used to treat me like one of them until i became to fragile to mess with, i would end up lying on the ground for like 10 minutes sometimes more just waiting for the pain to go away so i could get up and climb some more.
there was this one time at climbing team practice we were doing workouts and we were doing six inches where you keep you legs fully extended 6" off the ground while lying down with your hands by your side, that was probably the worst it has ever been, it couldn't get up for the longest time, and i had to go home bent over like someone about to hurl. it isn't fun and i am sorry for what you are going through.
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bent_gate
Sep 10, 2007, 5:54 PM
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climbordie7 wrote: there was this one time at climbing team practice we were doing workouts and we were doing six inches where you keep you legs fully extended 6" off the ground while lying down with your hands by your side, that was probably the worst it has ever been, it couldn't get up for the longest time, and i had to go home bent over like someone about to hurl. it isn't fun and i am sorry for what you are going through.
If you were doing leg lifts (while flat on the ground) those are extremely stressful on the back, and can be dangerous for those with back problems. Don't do them, at least without modifications.
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EPiCJAMES
Sep 13, 2007, 2:26 AM
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bent_gate wrote: climbordie7 wrote: there was this one time at climbing team practice we were doing workouts and we were doing six inches where you keep you legs fully extended 6" off the ground while lying down with your hands by your side, that was probably the worst it has ever been, it couldn't get up for the longest time, and i had to go home bent over like someone about to hurl. it isn't fun and i am sorry for what you are going through. exactly, slightly bend your knees. this takes the pressure off of your back by rotating your pelvis which causes your lumbar area(small of your back) to flatten. it's also called 'neutral posture'. if you ever have a back injury, and can't relax the pain, lie down on the floor on your back, with your legs on the couch so they are bent. kind of like when you lay on your side. i work in a back store, so if you ever have any questions, hit me up. If you were doing leg lifts (while flat on the ground) those are extremely stressful on the back, and can be dangerous for those with back problems. Don't do them, at least without modifications. |
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rockie
Sep 20, 2007, 4:08 PM
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I have mild scoliosis, s shape spine too, and had it monitored in childhood once it was identified that I had it.
It never got worse, so I guess I have it good.
I get stick neck and shoulders but not due to that, due to rheumatoid, and that is well controlled too. Always been fit and healthy.
I hear though, us women are the unlucky ones, we tend to get it more than men do, common in women to be born with it, don't ask me why though 
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maww
Sep 24, 2007, 9:42 PM
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I have it but it must be mild because my chiropractor just diagnosed it. I've had a fairly strong back and never noticed any issues.
I do practice yoga (somewhat regularly) and stay fit & in shape so I'm sure that helps!
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stonefoxgirl
Nov 3, 2007, 12:36 AM
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I received this article today from massage therapy.com, hopefully it can be of some use.
http://www.massagetherapy.com/articles/index.php/article_id/583
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