Elizabeth Junck

So the answer is that it depends. What kind of scoliosis treatment are you undergoing? What is your current health going into this treatment? What is the degree of your scoliosis curve? Is it surgery? Yes, you will most likely experience pain post surgery. Most patients I have known that have had a surgery to correct scoliosis have ongoing pain even post surgery. Is your treatment based off of nerve tension theory and holding you in traction and bracing? From what patients have expressed to me that is extremely painful. If you’re seeing a chiropractor for this, it really shouldn’t be more painful than the feeling you get the day after you’ve done a really hard workout. You’ll be sore and a good chiropractor will give you all the tools you need to manage that. A good chiropractor will be having you do a lot of physical rehabilitation training for stabilization of your spine and that will also be fatigued as would any other workout.

In short, no. Scoliosis is a change in the spine that can be either structural or functional. Structural means that is the way your body is, so there is very little you can change in that regard unless you undergo surgery. Functional means it's the way your body has adapted, and that can be influenced. Depending on how much of your scoliosis is functional will determine how much you are able to correct the degree of the curve. Even still it is likely you will not be able to straighten your spine entirely. This is common, there is a significant amount of people living with scoliosis. Where it would become a problem is if you were having pain or loss of function due to the nature of your curvature. There are chiropractors who specialize in scoliosis and I would recommend seeking one out for a detailed examination and evaluation and co-management with an orthopedic or neurosurgeon. Scoliosis is something to monitor as certain types of curvatures become more prominent overtime due to aging and gravity.

Bad posture doesn't happen overnight so don't stress about you not fixing it overnight. It will take 6-12 weeks to help correct bad postural habits. Provided there are no anatomical reasons for the postural issues (scoliosis, surgeries impacting anatomy, etc.) you will be able to improve. It takes learning about your body and recognizing when you are sitting in bad posture, standing in bad posture, etc and being cognizant of that and changing it each time you notice it.

Provided you are not injured and your chiropractor or other doctors have not advised exercise, you are absolutely okay to go to the gym! Active lifestyle is great and will help your body function to the best of it's ability in conjunction with chiropractic care.

It is possible. Find a chiropractor or trusted physician near you to do an evaluation. It is important to have your knee looked at as well as your whole body to determine the cause of the knee pain. For example, is it coming from poor foot biomechanics, poor pelvic alignment, muscle or ligament injury, arthritic changes? Until you have an evaluation to determine what specifically is causing the pain, you just don't know.

A chiropractor can absolutely help your body to drain ear fluid on it's own. Chiropractic care can decrease inflammation and increase the connection between the brain and the body. This will allow your body to take pressure off of the eustachian tube which is often a cause of ear fluid in the middle ear and it will drain naturally. The ears nose and throat are all connected so if any one of those structures becomes inflamed you are likely to notice it in the others. It would help to know why you are having the inflammation, cold, pressure change, or something else to make sure you get the right treatment. Visit a trusted healthcare professional or a chiropractor for further evaluation.

There are a number of causes for low back pain such as sprains, strains, muscle spasm, disc herniation, and many many more. It is important for you to have your low back pain evaluated by a chiropractor or another trusted medical professional in order to find out the cause so you may be treated most effectively.

You can absolutely see a chiropractor for ankle pain! A good chiropractor will do a thorough exam to find out why you are having ankle pain (sprain/strain, fracture, biomechanics etc.) and then make a care plan accordingly. You may need to be referred to a podiatrist for even more specialty care.

It would be good to see your primary care physician to investigate further. They know all of your health history and can determine what the root cause of your back pain and whether or not it is related to your current sickness or something else.

Each chiropractor will likely answer this question differently (no two of us are the same). I can only speak for myself in the following answer. I believe in getting you out of pain and getting your body and nervous system functioning as optimally as possible as fast as possible. I typically tell patients 3-12 visits max and by the end of that I hope to have brought them in touch with their body so that they know when they need to see me again. Some people know they must come every month or be in pain, others 2-4 times a year. No two patients are the same. If together as a healthcare team you are not seeing improvements in your pain and function, it’s time we look into more in depth imaging or referral to another provider. I am not proud and will refer out when necessary. So my answer is, stopping chiropractic care should be something your chiropractor has talked with you about and you both have decided together.

There are several ways we as chiropractors can adjust the feet. After evaluating and communicating with you as a patient we will decide which technique will suit you best. There is what is called a drop table or piece which will be put under your foot and we will place our hand on top and apply pressure and the table will drop. The force of the drop facilitates that adjustment. We may adjust it with an activator which is a tool. We may also adjust it manually with our hands. Some adjustments may be tender but should not cause you pain following the adjustment. Communicate your concerns with your doctor and they should be able to walk you through the adjustment so you are comfortable!