Studies have shown chiropractic to be no better than placebo for pretty much all conditions other than lower back pain. For lower back pain it is better than placebo but not massively and given the associated risks (please tell me you don't let him near your neck) you'd be better off with more conventional remedies.
Don't get me wrong, if it makes you feel better then that's fine (though you should be aware of the risks). Most Chiropractors are nice, well meaning people, but medically it is unfortunately largely bunkum.
(Incidentally as far as I can tell there is no good evidence to support chiropractic in the treatment of scoliosis, though I'm sure your chiropractor has a different opinion.)
100% agree though with looking after your body though.
See: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10519559
You could actually even double blind it by having one chiropractor diagnose and prescribe treatment, and then have that treatment randomised so it was either done as prescribed or substituted for a sham treatment. That treatment would then be administered by a second chiropractor who was unaware of the diagnosis and not allowed to speak to the patient about it or modify the treatment.
Even if that was too complex or otherwise flawed a properly constructed single blinded RCT trial is still valid evidence, even if it's not the best of the best.
But you should figure out what causes the symptom, and fix that. It may take effort. Most times it takes strength training. But it's better for you then going to some guy to push your bones around once a week.
As an aside, I'd be interested to know if anyone has ever done research on lifelong computer use (started when I was 6) and the rate of scoliosis.
In my case (obviously YMMV), chiropractic adjustments made me feel better immediately afterwards but gave me no long term improvements. The following other things have helped me incredibly, though, to the extent that I can't remember the last time I had scoliosis-related pain (which was a daily occurrence 5 years ago.)
- Swimming 2-3 times a week, mix of strokes.
- Finding a good sports physio, who really understands anatomy. This took a few false starts and lots of asking around, but eventually I found one who gave me extremely good advice on where to stretch, and where to strengthen, to start resolving the muscular imbalances that exacerbate scoliosis.
- Feldenkrais Method. I know this one will set the "skeptics" off instantly. However, Feldenkrais has helped me learn to pay more attention to my own nervous system and my own muscles. When I first got properly diagnosed (10 years ago, age 18) I used to regularly forget which side my curve was on and where it went. I certainly couldn't feel if I was moving "into" or "out of" my pattern, or notice when a part of me was tensing up or pulling me out of alignment.
Working with Feldenkrais was basically about teaching my brain (through repetition, over and over) all the subtle movements that my body was capable of, so I'm better at knowing where my body is at any given point, and at engaging all my core muscles when I move around.
There was a big "aha" moment when we realised that, in my case, my right side iliopsoas muscle can build up an enormous amount of tension (especially when I'm stressed or sitting a lot - hello programming!), and this exacerbates all my symptoms. Learning to release that (I use 'trigger point' methods so I can do it myself) made a massive difference.
- The noteworthy differences between the physio, Feldenkrais, and the chiro, was that the first two were teaching me skills to manage my body myself. I haven't felt the need to go back to see either of them in over a year, they've both given me pages and pages of handwritten notes and exercises, and encouraged me to notice what works and what doesn't and decide for myself what I should be doing.
Your Mileage Will Almost Certainly Vary (maybe completely.) Also, obviously (this scares me quite a bit), things are going to get harder as we get older (I'm only 28 now.) But hopefully some of it may be of use to someone else here with scoliosis, if they want to try and reduce their overall pain and discomfort.
:)
- Not sleeping well
- Feeling anxious more frequently
- Lack of focus
- Lack of motivation
- More difficulty following complex problem/solutions
- General irritability
After this next deadline in a week, I'm renewing my commitment to exercise and putting it in the non-negotiable list of things to do everyday.
Some may say it's burnout, but I am not losing interest -- everything just feels like it has slowed down. Code that I should write quickly is taking longer.
I know it's marathon, not a sprint, but if you don't keep your body in shape that marathon can take longer than it should. So this week I have committed to focus on exercising and getting my energy levels back up.
Only in a week?
I guess you didn't really learn your lesson yet.
Exercise improves your productivity immediately (same day). There is no point to wait for another week.
"Sounded?" That word suggests that they have only read or heard about it, without actually trying it.
I wonder if they would consider the physical and mental development required to hold Mayurasana as soft?
Sarcasm aside, lifting is far more effective than anything else for building strength.
I have found after many years of programming that how I take care of my body before I ever sit down is much more important than the environment I sit down to. I have sat in over 100 offices of every possible condition (some you wouldn't believe) and have figured out that there's a "time warp" involved here... If I've taken care of myself, then I can function quite well in the worst client dump. If I haven't taken care of myself, then the most expensive of everything won't help much.
I have had scoliosis my whole life, so I've had to learn how to take care of myself or I never would have made it this far. Some of the things I always do:
Oddly, I have never really followed most of OP's advice because I never thought it was very important. Most other programmers can't believe me, but here is my typical arrangement: OP brings up some good points, but the most important thing is to find out what will work for you for years. It's a marathon, not a sprint.