Developing Daily Habits to Reduce Scoliosis Pain
When you think about managing your scoliosis symptoms and supporting your curve, what comes to mind? Scoliosis-specific exercise? Physical therapy sessions? Spending lots of time working with props and equipment?
All of those things can certainly help you reduce pain, improve your alignment, and build strong core muscles to support your curve. But there’s another (often overlooked) aspect of scoliosis self-care: daily habits.
How you sit, stand, move, and go about your daily routine can have a significant impact on your curve and your pain levels. And just a few small, consistent changes can greatly improve how you feel in your body. So let’s talk about how to develop daily habits to reduce scoliosis pain.
(If you want to learn more about how to build powerful, long-lasting habits, I’d highly recommend the book Atomic Habits by James Clear.)
Scolio-Habit Tip #1: Build More Awareness
This first step toward building effective habits to manage your scoliosis is to increase your awareness of your curve. Now, I’m not saying that you currently go through your days forgetting that you have scoliosis (I know I don’t). You probably experience many things that remind you of your curve, like sitting in uncomfortable chairs or feeling your clothes sit asymmetrically on your body. But that’s not what I mean about building awareness.
What I mean is to create a continual awareness of how you’re holding yourself throughout the day. Make it a habit to frequently check in with yourself about your posture and alignment — what shape are you allowing your body to take? Checking in gives you a chance to evaluate whether your current posture is helping or harming your curve. And once you know that, you can take action to change things, if necessary.
How exactly can you build this habitual awareness? I’d recommend setting regular alarms on your phone. Maybe start with every hour or two. It might seem like a lot, but it’s easy to go hours without checking in on your posture, especially if you work at a desk job where you keep the same position most of the day.
When the alarm goes off, check in with yourself. How are you sitting? Are you distributing your weight evenly on your sitting bones? Are you collapsing into your curve? Come up with a list of ways to analyze your posture, and follow them every time your alarm goes off.
If using a phone alarm doesn’t sound appealing, you could use sticky notes instead. Place these reminders around your house so you see them throughout the day. When you see one, check your alignment and make any necessary adjustments.
There’s not one right way to do this, as long as you’re increasing your awareness of your positioning throughout the day. Pick a reminder method that works well for you, and after a while, you’ll have a strong habit that’s a natural part of your daily routine.
Scolio-Habit Tip #2: Incorporate Some Scoliosis-Specific Exercises
Scoliosis-specific exercise is one of the most beneficial things you can do for your scoliosis. But most of us don’t have the time or opportunity for hours (or more) of dedicated exercise every day. While those long, intense sessions can offer great results, they’re just not practical for most people who have jobs, school, kids, and other responsibilities that fill their daily schedules.
But here’s the thing — you don’t have to set aside hours every day to get similar benefits. If you can incorporate small sessions of scoliosis exercise throughout the day, you’ll see results. This approach is far more manageable for most of us — plus, it complements that first habit of building awareness.
Build a habit of checking your alignment, and tack on a second habit of doing a few minutes of scoliosis-friendly exercise here and there throughout your day. If you only have to find the time for a few minutes of exercise (vs. a two-hour session), it’s much easier to make that commitment and actually follow through.
An extra benefit of this approach is that it’s adaptable. Even if you’re traveling or have an extra-busy schedule occasionally, you’ll probably still be able to fit in a few minutes of exercise.
Scolio-Habit Tip #3: Stack Your Habits!
This approach is pulled straight from Atomic Habits, and I’ve found it to be extremely effective for me. The basic idea is to start with habits that you already have and build new habits on top of them.
For example, you might habitually make coffee every morning. That’s already an established habit — you probably don’t even have to think about it. Take that habit and stack a new one on top. Maybe do some spinal elongation or expansive breathing exercises while your coffee is brewing.
This approach takes away much of the mental effort of forming a new habit. You don’t have to try to incorporate something entirely new into your day. Instead, you’re just adding a few extra activities to a habit you already have. It’s a much lower barrier to entry.
Ready to Start Building Your Scolio-Habits?
I’ve found this habit-based approach so effective in my own scoliosis care, and I have heard the same thing from many of my clients. That’s why I’ve developed two unique programs to help you create effective scoliosis habits.
The Scoliosis Movement Bootcamp is a 6-month self-paced online program that’s all about making simple adjustments to your daily routine. Each week, you’ll learn about a new habit or adjustment that makes everyday life easier and less painful. The program covers everything from dishes and laundry to carrying children, and it will help you build that awareness and learn how to adjust your alignment so you feel better throughout the day.
If you’re looking for more scoliosis–specific exercises to add to your daily routine, join Scolioilogic Fitness. This program helps you add more exercise to your routine — in a way that’s safe and effective. As a member, you’ll get access to one live workout class each week and a library of on-demand exercise videos. We’ve got strength training, Pilates, and barre classes — all modified for scoliosis. Plus, you’ll get educational resources and a monthly Q&A session.
I’m putting both of these programs on sale for Black Friday! During the sale, you can save 20% on The Scoliosis Movement Bootcamp and get 3 months of Scoliologid Fitness for the price of 2 (you can purchase multiple packages). The sale runs Friday through Monday, so don’t miss your chance to save big on these programs. Each one can help you build those healthy scoliosis habits that help you feel your best every day.
If you want more tips on managing your scoliosis, listen to my podcast, Ahead of the Curve. Subscribe to get every episode when it airs!
