Scoliosis: Straight Talk About Twisted Spines

By Brett Diaz, DC


Although most chiropractors treat patients who have scoliosis, few truly understand the forces that lock up these abnormal curves.


This can make treating a scoliosis curvature feel like trying to treat a spine cast in bronze. The good news is it is not that rigid. The key to reshaping the spine toward a more normal, balanced position is to first understand the pathway it took to get so twisted.

Although a two-dimensional radiograph will quite readily reveal the lateral curves of scoliosis, because it is not a three-dimensional representation of the body it does nothing to reveal the all-important rotational component most often found in scoliosis. One of the greatest challenges in treating scoliosis is for the practitioner to truly appreciate the full depth of the problem. This difficulty lies greatly in the limitations of the primary diagnostic tool used for scoliosis, the plain-film X-ray. Although X-rays of a scoliosis are quite dramatic, they are still just a two-dimensional representation of an even more complex three-dimensional problem. Thus, simply viewing X-rays of a scoliosis often draws the attention of the doctor to only the two obvious dimensions of the spine, the vertical height and the lateral deviation. This focus results in significant visual limitations for doctor because it fails to capture the third dimension of the scoliosis.

The Cast Curse

By LCC-Catie D, Sunday at 8:30 am

Our little Van Gogh's self portrait

Hopefully you survived the first post and have agreed to stay with us for more Suck It, Scoliosis.  You learned from meeting our curvy crew we chose casting as our treatment modality.  Although this method of treatment is the best course of action for infants and toddlers, it is not as widely used for children with juvenile scoliosis.  The science behind casting infants and toddlers is to harness their rapid growth to use as a corrective force in straightening their little spines.  Scoliosis was once thought to be a 2 dimensional curve of the spine.  Through great research and study it has actually been determined to be  3 dimensional with both a curve and rotation of the spine.  With casting, our great surgeon at Chicago Shriner's Hospital for Children is able to place our Iron Will under general anesthesia, place him in full traction where he manipulates his rotation and curve straight and applies a plaster cast  wrapped in fiberglass to his torso to allow him to safely grow with his spine in this straight position.  Iron Will wears his armor for 10-12 weeks and then we go at it once again.    OMG that was way too technical! I was afraid if I told you they knock him out, place him in a medieval torcher device, beat the crap out of his little body then wrap him in plaster and fiberglass I may have lost you.  It definitely is not the vision you want to have of your son but it gives him a fighting chance and at this point we will take a stinky cast kid over the alternative.

5 Foods That Can Trigger a Stroke

Crackers, chips, and store-bought pastries and baked goods
Muffins, doughnuts, chips, crackers, and many other baked goods are high in trans fats, which are hydrogenated oils popular with commercial bakeries because they stay solid at room temperature, so the products don't require refrigeration. Also listed on labels as "partially hydrogenated" or hydrogenated oils, trans fats are found in all kinds of snack foods, frozen foods, and baked goods, including salad dressings, microwave popcorn, stuffing mixes, frozen tater tots and French fries, cake mixes, and whipped toppings. They're also what makes margarine stay in a solid cube. The worst offenders are fried fast foods such as onion rings, French fries, and fried chicken.

Why it's bad
For years scientists have known trans fats are dangerous artery-blockers, upping the concentrations of lipids and bad cholesterol in the blood and lowering good cholesterol. Now we can add stroke to the list of dangers. This year researchers at the University of North Carolina found that women who ate 7 grams of trans fat each day -- about the amount in two doughnuts or half a serving of French fries -- had 30 percent more strokes (the ischemic type, caused by blocked blood flow to the brain) than women who ate just 1 gram a day. Another recent study, also in women, found that trans fats promoted inflammation and higher levels of C-reactive protein, which have been linked to an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.

Vitamin K2 Supplementation Improves Insulin Sensitivity via Osteocalcin Metabolism: A Placebo-Controlled Trial

Research is showing that vitamin K can help to regulate your glucose metabolism.  This may be because the vitamin converts to a substance called carboxylated osteocalcin in your body, which affects insulin sensitivity.

A recent study found that that vitamin K2 supplementation increased insulin sensitivity in healthy young men.  The effect seemed to be related to increased carboxylated osteocalcin levels, rather than to another factor such as modulation of inflammation.

According to the study in Diabetes Care: