Scoliosis and the Nervous System: What You Need to Know
I’ve recently completed a functional neurology mentorship (with Missy Bunch), and I’ve learned so many fascinating things about the nervous system! This mentorship has given me new information that will help me provide my clients with the best care, and I’m excited to share what I’ve learned about scoliosis and the nervous system!
In particular, this mentorship program focused on three aspects of functional neurology: pain perception, movement improvement, and support for overall well-being. Let’s dive in!
Scoliosis Impacts Every Part of Your Body
We often just think about the way that scoliosis impacts the spine. But in fact, your spinal curve can impact your entire body! Scoliosis affects your muscles and bones, of course, but also your organs, vestibular system, lymphatic system, brain, vision, and overall well-being.
Functional neurology encompasses all of these parts of the body as well. So learning more about this field of study makes it easier to understand exactly how scoliosis plays a role in all of those aspects of health.
The Nervous System and Scoliosis Pain
Getting a better understanding of the nervous system provides insight into how people experience pain. When you have back pain, the natural response is to assume it was caused by whatever happened at the time when the pain occurred.
For example, if you reach back in the car to grab your bag and your neck starts hurting, it’s natural to think that the cause of the pain was the rotational movement. But that explanation doesn’t show the whole picture.
In most cases, pain isn’t caused by a singular action or event. Injuries don’t occur in isolation! Pain is often a combination of many small factors. These experiences may be from a long time ago (e.g., a sprained ankle as a child) and/or from right now (e.g., lack of sleep).
The threat bucket
All of these factors get put in a metaphorical “threat bucket” that has a spout somewhere near the top. That spout releases pain whenever all the items in the bucket (combined) exceed a certain threshold.
So in the example above, reaching back to grab your bag in the car isn’t the sole cause of your pain. It might just be the final thing that causes your bucket to exceed the threshold, which leads to a release of pain.
If you can reduce the number of pain-contributing factors in your bucket, you can increase your tolerance for actions like that rotation. In other words, you may not experience as much pain from an action like rotating if there aren’t as many other contributing factors, like stress, lack of sleep, dehydration, and so on.
Movement can also help reduce those contributing factors. For example, past experiences may cause your brain to think that all movement is dangerous. But participating in safe movement can help your brain to realize that certain actions and movements aren’t a threat. And over time, that may mean that you experience less pain from moving.
Scoliosis and Information Processing
The way your brain processes information can impact your experience with scoliosis pain! Different functions are managed by different parts of the brain. Your autonomic functions (like breathing and heartbeat) are managed in the brain stem.
The cortex is where conscious thoughts happen. It’s also the part of the brain that manages complex movements like writing, playing sports, and communicating.
The brain stem is where your cranial nerves live. These nerves are responsible for allowing you to use all your senses. These nerves connect to the part of the brain that controls pain modulation and nervous system regulation.
So, whenever there’s a positive influence on the cranial nerves, it translates to a positive effect on that part of the brain that handles pain. Things like balance exercises, turning your head, moving your arms, and even focusing your eyes can all be positive for your cranial nerves, which can, in turn, help to release some of that threat from the bucket without pain.
Visual Processing and Scoliosis
The way that your body processes what your eyes see can also impact your scoliosis symptoms. In most cases, your brain prioritizes input from your eyes over input from every other sense. Some studies say that your vision controls up to 70% of your postural activities!
An easy way to understand this is to think about how your body tends to go in whatever direction you look. For example, if you’re trying to balance on one foot, you may tip over if you look at the ground vs. focusing on a point straight ahead.
What does that mean? Visual and coordination exercises can make it easier for you to improve your posture and thus, reduce scoliosis pain.
Joints, Flexibility, and Scoliosis Pain
When your joints are “jammed,” certain movements, especially those that are impactful (like walking and running), can cause pain. Mobility exercises can help loosen those joints and reduce the risk of pain from those movements.
Even mobility exercises that don’t specifically relate to the spine can still be beneficial for other joints. And if those joints stop contributing to the threat bucket, then you may have more leeway before reaching that pain threshold.
Improving Your Overall Well-Being
When you have scoliosis, it’s easy to think that your spinal curve is the main cause of any pain and physical challenges you have. But it’s really so much more than that — because every part of your body is interconnected.
Improving your mobility, movement, vision, and balance are all ways to help your brain better understand what’s going on, reducing the “threats” in your bucket. And doing that lessens the chance of experiencing pain.
I incorporate all of these aspects into my scoliosis coaching programs. Whether you work with me 1:1 or in one of my group coaching programs, you’ll learn exercises and activities that can help support your nervous system and reduce pain.
If that sounds good to you, make sure you’re signed up for my newsletter. Open Enrollment for my programs starts soon, giving you the chance to sign up for individual or group coaching at a big discount.
Remember, if you want more information like this on key scoliosis topics, listen to my podcast, Ahead of the Curve. Subscribe to get every episode when it airs!
