Brain/Muscle Miscommunication

A Spinal Curve is just the Symptom of Brain/Muscle Miscommunication

Most cases of scoliosis are idiopathic, meaning of unknown cause. This may cause terror if your child has scoliosis, anxiety if you have scoliosis, or bewilderment if you’re the doctor who detects it. Idiopathic implies we don’t understand what causes scoliosis, but we have learned that it’s a genetic defect that causes miscommunication between the brain and muscles. The spinal curve is a symptom.

The postural control centers are in the hind brain, in the same area that controls many other automatic body functions like breathing, heart rate and digestion. Like posture, none of these functions are voluntarily controlled. Spinal posture is an automatic neurological orientation to gravity that most of us take for granted.

If you or your child has scoliosis, these control centers aren’t alerting the central nervous system and muscles of the abnormal posture, so the spine curves instead of correcting itself. The spinal muscles aren’t weak, which is a common misconception; they just aren’t getting the right messages.

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