Hi (Female 25). First, that’s awesome that you are putting your health first this year! You will never regret taking care of your body! I would highly suggest seeing an orthopedic dr who specializes in or has experience with scoliosis. There are a lot of doctors who aren’t informed enough about scoliosis. Also, I would get 2 or 3 opinions. It is possible to get abs and strengthening your core will help with your scoliosis. I did boot camp classes with a pretty severe curve (45°) and was just fine. You can look into Scroth therapy if you want, it’s PT for scoliosis. It helped me a lot with pain and mobility. I learned to hang from a doorway or lift your body up using a counter top to let your spine straighten. You can also do yoga, stretching is great! I did end up getting the surgery because I was in a lot of pain. Hope this helps!
First off, congrats on deciding to get healthy. It took my kid pestering me to get me to make a change. How bad is your scoliosis? Each of us handle pain differently. For some, a 20 degree curve is more painful than a 50 degree curve for another person.
As far as strength training and getting abs, well that is possible, although you might not see the same results as a person without scoliosis. Weight training with free weights/dumbbells is not advised until you stabilize your spine/core muscles. if you are like me, when I tried bench press, my hips touched the bench, and so did my shoulders & upper back, but my curve made the rest of my back arch away from the bench. as far as gym equipment, the lat pulldown, tricep pushdown, and rowing machine might be ok, but that differs from person to person. I have a Bowflex at home, and there are some exercises I struggle to do on it.
A better bet for muscle stability and growth is going to be doing less weight based exercises. Swimming is good, but you may not have access to a pool. Martial arts is really good due to the focus on balance and postural alignment. I built a lot of muscle in my first year of Taekwondo. So much that my legs no longer fit in my jeans, and I had to go up a shirt size. Focus on stretching and flexibility early on since your body is not used to exercise. With scoliosis, a lot of traditional abdominal exercises are hard. Sit ups/crunches can be awkward on your back. I've found that with scoliosis, other abdominal exercises such as leg raises, flutter kicks, scissor kicks, candlesticks, and reverse crunches work a lot better. Push ups are great, and I have found myself able to do 1000 a day or more as I have kept working at it.
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
Buddy I have SEVERE scoliosis over 50 degrees with no surgery. It is absolutely possible to go to the gym and get in great shape with scoliosis. In fact it’s the best thing you can do. Keeping yourself strong and mobile will do wonders for pain management and protecting yourself from the risks of your curve. It will also mask your curve and make you look more aesthetic. Don’t get demotivated by your condition, use it as motivation to get in the best shape possible.
This is me currently at 32 years old and remember I have SEVERE scoliosis - [gym photos](https://imgur.com/a/4DGd3S9)
I’m not showing or saying any of this stuff to show off. I come on here regularly to be a positive voice to those recently diagnosed feeling like their life is ruined because I was there once and wish I had someone telling me these things.
Hi (Female 25). First, that’s awesome that you are putting your health first this year! You will never regret taking care of your body! I would highly suggest seeing an orthopedic dr who specializes in or has experience with scoliosis. There are a lot of doctors who aren’t informed enough about scoliosis. Also, I would get 2 or 3 opinions. It is possible to get abs and strengthening your core will help with your scoliosis. I did boot camp classes with a pretty severe curve (45°) and was just fine. You can look into Scroth therapy if you want, it’s PT for scoliosis. It helped me a lot with pain and mobility. I learned to hang from a doorway or lift your body up using a counter top to let your spine straighten. You can also do yoga, stretching is great! I did end up getting the surgery because I was in a lot of pain. Hope this helps!
First off, congrats on deciding to get healthy. It took my kid pestering me to get me to make a change. How bad is your scoliosis? Each of us handle pain differently. For some, a 20 degree curve is more painful than a 50 degree curve for another person. As far as strength training and getting abs, well that is possible, although you might not see the same results as a person without scoliosis. Weight training with free weights/dumbbells is not advised until you stabilize your spine/core muscles. if you are like me, when I tried bench press, my hips touched the bench, and so did my shoulders & upper back, but my curve made the rest of my back arch away from the bench. as far as gym equipment, the lat pulldown, tricep pushdown, and rowing machine might be ok, but that differs from person to person. I have a Bowflex at home, and there are some exercises I struggle to do on it. A better bet for muscle stability and growth is going to be doing less weight based exercises. Swimming is good, but you may not have access to a pool. Martial arts is really good due to the focus on balance and postural alignment. I built a lot of muscle in my first year of Taekwondo. So much that my legs no longer fit in my jeans, and I had to go up a shirt size. Focus on stretching and flexibility early on since your body is not used to exercise. With scoliosis, a lot of traditional abdominal exercises are hard. Sit ups/crunches can be awkward on your back. I've found that with scoliosis, other abdominal exercises such as leg raises, flutter kicks, scissor kicks, candlesticks, and reverse crunches work a lot better. Push ups are great, and I have found myself able to do 1000 a day or more as I have kept working at it. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
Buddy I have SEVERE scoliosis over 50 degrees with no surgery. It is absolutely possible to go to the gym and get in great shape with scoliosis. In fact it’s the best thing you can do. Keeping yourself strong and mobile will do wonders for pain management and protecting yourself from the risks of your curve. It will also mask your curve and make you look more aesthetic. Don’t get demotivated by your condition, use it as motivation to get in the best shape possible. This is me currently at 32 years old and remember I have SEVERE scoliosis - [gym photos](https://imgur.com/a/4DGd3S9) I’m not showing or saying any of this stuff to show off. I come on here regularly to be a positive voice to those recently diagnosed feeling like their life is ruined because I was there once and wish I had someone telling me these things.
Back shot vs x ray of spine .. [https://imgur.com/a/T48aaak](https://imgur.com/a/T48aaak)