The success of alternative scoliosis treatment is controversial and confusing to say the least. I guess you could say that almost any alternative treatment, “alternative” meaning not prescribed by a medical doctor would be defined this way. I am certain that we as a culture have a preconceived idea of what a healthcare provider is, does, and represents. The notion that alternative treatments exist for many diseases, to some or perhaps most Americans is likely to be considered risky, unsubstantiated, or even a hoax. Since we were very young we were taught through experience, television, and our parents that medical doctors are the only real source of trust when treating diseases. Television portrays them as elite, sexy, smart hero types. The question becomes is this reality?

Alternative scoliosis treatment would then be considered anything used to treat scoliosis that is not medical. Since medical doctors, primarily orthopedic surgeons, treat scoliosis in only one fashion using rigid braces or fusion surgery then all treatment outside of bracing and scoliosis surgery would be considered alternative. I would like to focus this conversation on alternative scoliosis treatment performed by a chiropractor. There are no medical doctors that currently support chiropractic as a legitimate treatment method for scoliosis and for good reason chiropractic colleges, state associations, or state licensing boards do not support or recommend that chiropractors treat scoliosis as a primary care doctor would but rather only as an adjunct for pain relief.

It is very important to acknowledge that chiropractors that claim to be able to treat scoliosis from a corrective perspective are not supported by their profession unless they have received a minimum of 100 hours of post-graduate course study and are doing so with an orthopedic specialist as the primary care physician. Read the rest of this entry »