Paleo Diet: Raw Paleo Diet and Lifestyle Forum

Raw Paleo Diet Forums => General Discussion => Topic started by: svrn on September 05, 2012, 10:52:05 am

Title: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: svrn on September 05, 2012, 10:52:05 am
what type of treatment besides just diet would you reccomend for scoliosis? what foods particularly and why? what kinds of excercises/stretches/healing systems would be in order for this. aajonus says it just heals over time with proper diet and reccomends the nut milks for it as well but im looking for something that can be done more than that. I heard there is a link with candida.

this person doesnt really feel any pain from it yet but the alignment has been classified as scoliosis through xray and is at a big enough angle to be classified as such. The doctors have them convinced that if they dont get the surgery now they will be crippled with older.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: raw-al on September 05, 2012, 10:07:16 pm
Rolfing is one treatment if you can find it locally.

EFT Emotional Freedom Technique for those so inclined.

Yoga is a gradual way to alleviate it.

Food may help, although that sounds a bit of a stretch. NPI LOL
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: svrn on September 06, 2012, 01:22:44 am
also thanks for the rolfing tip. seems promising. heres a good short film about it.

(two hands at bottom of page.)

http://www.filmsshort.com/festival-winners/Oscar-Winners-Short-Documentaries-1.html (http://www.filmsshort.com/festival-winners/Oscar-Winners-Short-Documentaries-1.html)
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: PaleoPhil on September 06, 2012, 07:26:08 am
I have both scoliosis and kyphosis, aka kyphoscoliosis (which means curved in both a  in both a coronal and sagittal plane). My flexibility and pain improved when I cut out gluten and improved a bit further when I went LC Paleo and raw LC Paleo. I tried chiropractic over the years. A couple chiropractors seemed to help a little, but it wasn't worth the cost to me. I'm still curved, so I've been experimenting with other things too, but at least my curvature hasn't progressed any since 2004, when I cut out the gluten. My height has been measuring consistently by physicians' offices at a half inch higher than it had been at the low point before Paleo, so that suggests some straightening.

My mother and two of three of my siblings also have scoliosis and/or kyphosis. Over the same years that my spine appears to have slightly straightened, my mother's has greatly worsened, though I haven't noticed worsening in my sibling's spines, one of whom is Paleo and the other, youngest sibling, who had a milder case that received more early treatment because hers was caught earlier (my parents had found a good chiropractor by the time hers was noticed, who seemed to make a great difference in her case).

I'm determined to never have to do surgery, despite being told many years ago by an allopathic MD that there's no hope of improvement via anything other than surgery, and likely inevitable worsening. There's no guarantee of permanent fix with surgery and there is a wide range of quality of surgical procedures and surgeons, with some producing rather horrendous results, including some horrible cases that involved severe worsening of the curvature--sometimes caused by the surgical/implant measures themselves--and even bending of metal bars inserted along the spine! I've heard and seen cases, including a bunch reported in a lecture, with images, that I attended by a leading surgeon who has done many scoliosis surgeries.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: cherimoya_kid on September 06, 2012, 07:35:33 am
Esther Gokhale's method is really useful.  gokhalemethod.com (http://gokhalemethod.com)

Also Neurocranial Restructuring is amazing as well.  http://www.ncrdoctors.com/ (http://www.ncrdoctors.com/)

Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: PaleoPhil on September 06, 2012, 07:54:28 am
Yes, and I think Gokhale and Egoscue,  Activated Isolated Stretching, trigger point therapy, myofascial / deep tissue massage and other methods may have been discussed in this forum. One could try searching on those terms as well as on scoliosis.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: Dorothy on September 07, 2012, 08:03:43 am
My husband has been doing in-depth research into reversing his scoliosis. There are some yoga postures that are good and some that are very bad for scoliosis - actually - most yoga postures are very bad. There is the Schroth method. There is CLEAR which is very expensive and might be over-rated for adults but has had some amazing results as per youtube.

Rolfing did nothing for Brian. Chiropractors (many over many years with different styles) did nothing. Acupuncture did nothing. Trigger point, myofacial, craniosacral and so many other things did nothing. Weekly massage for years with people that didn't have expertise with scoliosis did nothing. Emotional release techniques - also - no results.

You can reduce and reverse with exercise and physical therapy however - but it has to be geared specifically to scoliosis. He is going to start Iyengar yoga in particular to see how he does with it as he has read specific recommendations by Iyengar himself on how to treat a scoliosis similar to his that worked. We'll see.

I am learning how to do massage on him daily.
We've been only looking into this for the last couple of weeks and I already see improvement. I'm basically just pushing him back into place with consistency. He is modifying his own yoga practice to what he has learned on the internet.

Don't bother with anything that hasn't already had proven results with scoliosis. It's just a waste of time and resources imho.



Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: svrn on September 07, 2012, 09:33:02 am
with rolfing I think that the short documentary on the composer gives some credence to the practice. He went from being unable to use his right hand to having a tiny bit of improvement with surgery followed by huge recovery after rolfing. So rolfing has shown itself to work in many cases. I do believe it has as much to do with the practitioner as the practice though and you can get a bad rolfer just like you can get a bad version of anything else.

also im very suspicious that the person who im referring to is being told to get surgery when in my opinion said person has a very healthy back considering they can do the cobra pose in yoga and back back so far that the toes touch the head and they do this with no problem. I cant even come close to this and am considered extremely flexible. How can person who supposedly has scoliosis do such a thing? perhapsi am jsut wrong though and the ability to do such a pose is unrelated to a scoliosis diagnosis.

Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: Dorothy on September 08, 2012, 04:01:16 am
He has flexible hamstrings Troll.

I know a lot about rolfing. Between Brian and I we've gone to many - some of the best. I once gave a rolfer that I saw change a foot almost instantly my last $500 to help me - but there was no change. Rolfing can be very painful btw. It took us a long time to give up on it. Feldenkrais the same thing. Years of training. We've been at this a long time. We are also both trained in massage therapy.

The proper exercises and longer term proper massage techniques on a daily basis would be a more effective treatment imho. If there is a Schroth practitioner near him - that's the ticket! They would teach him how to help himself.

Medical doctors in this country at this time all say that there is no way to correct scoliosis besides surgery - but it wasn't always that way and it is simply, absolutely not true.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: PaleoPhil on September 08, 2012, 05:54:01 am
Medical doctors in this country at this time all say that there is no way to correct scoliosis besides surgery - but it wasn't always that way and it is simply, absolutely not true.
That's what a physician told me many years ago and I decided then and there not to take his word as gospel, thank heavens. In response to a simple, innocent question, he even said something along the lines of, "If you think that there's any way to improve your kyphoscoliosis beyond surgery, then you've abandoned all medical science!" He was verging on anger. What a turn-off! The arrogance of some conventional practioners I've encountered over the years has been sickening and counter-productive to their aims. If I listened to them I might have a metal rod along my spine at this time.

Fascinatingly, I've noticed that if an allopathic physician gets super-angry at a question, it tends to mean that I should explore it further, as it tends to challenge his profits, but hold hope of boosting my health.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: goodsamaritan on September 08, 2012, 07:03:11 am
You guys tried inclined bed therapy?  Seems to be pretty useful and practical.
Chiropractor definitely if you can afford it.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: Alive on September 08, 2012, 08:41:01 am
Could hanging upside down help to stretch your spine straighter?

I bought an inversion table for a sore back, but didn't need it as back pain went away after changing diet to lower carb / higher raw.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: Dorothy on September 08, 2012, 09:18:23 am

Fascinatingly, I've noticed that if an allopathic physician gets super-angry at a question, it tends to mean that I should explore it further, as it tends to challenge his profits, but hold hope of boosting my health.

I'm going to call this "Phil's Angry Doctor Indicator"! Truly, thank goodness you didn't listen!

Good Samaritan - Brian has been to dozens of chiropractors with no help what-so-ever.

If you are going to try a chiropractor make sure they can give you actual references of people who's spines they have straightened from scoliosis or it could be a big waste of time and resources. It's really not going to be as useful as daily work on yourself putting the spine back into the position it is supposed to be and actually at first you need to over compensate so you would move the spine past normal to the opposite position. Brian has modified his chair recently to overcompensate in the opposite direction and it was amazing how fast it seemed to help.

Incline Bed Therapy is so good in so many ways that it surely doesn't hurt - but so far - not really helping much in that way.

With scoliosis is more complicated than mere stretching. Some parts you need to stretch and other compress and some rotate.

What ya gotta do is put the body back into alignment - which isn't straight forward and not the same for different curves.

There's going to be a class this Fall in Austin at the Iyengar Center for people with scoliosis that we are going to and then I'm seriously thinking of flying to wherever there is a Schroth practioner with Brian because I'm convinced that that therapy holds the most promise. We're also looking for a massage therapist with experience helping people with scoliosis for me to LEARN from because I think the daily work is vital and we will continue to search for a chiropractor that has some experience - but that seems like a long shot. The honest ones will tell you that they can't really do anything - except the CLEAR therapy. There is someone in North Austin (quite the drive) but it costs tens of thousands of dollars - and I'm not even sure it's the best choice - but makes much more sense than surgery and for some can be covered by insurance. If you had insurance and a practioner that would accept it - I'd go for CLEAR in a heart beat.  For us though, I think it would be better to fly to a Schroth practioner to learn instead rather than depending on machines. 

Surgery should always be the last resort. Our medical establishment can be truly ridiculous when it comes to chronic illness. If they don't understand it - they just want to cut at it!
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: cherimoya_kid on September 08, 2012, 08:15:28 pm
Yes, and I think Gokhale and Egoscue,  Activated Isolated Stretching, trigger point therapy, myofascial / deep tissue massage and other methods may have been discussed in this forum. One could try searching on those terms as well as on scoliosis.

Gokhale is a very powerful method.  If your posture is correct, then your muscles will help pull your spine back into place over time.  It is a good companion to any other method.

Neurocranial Restructuring is also extremely useful for many people.  It definitely got rid of a lot of my own misalignments.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: Dorothy on September 08, 2012, 11:10:04 pm
I went and checked out the website on Gokhale Cheri and there is going to be a free seminar coming up in our city soon - we plan on taking it. There are no practitioners of Neurocranial Restructuring however in our area. Did you have scoliosis Cheri? We've found that chiro and a lot of the things that work wonderfully with other kinds of mis-alignments and blockages haven't worked for Brian's scoliosis. It seems to be a different kind of animal.

Thanks for posting about those therapies. We'll try to post about our experience with the Gokhale after the course.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: cherimoya_kid on September 09, 2012, 10:38:20 am
Could hanging upside down help to stretch your spine straighter?



I've got an inversion table.  I use it for a few minutes every day or two.  I don't think it hurts, but it's good to use it in moderation, don't overdo it.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: cherimoya_kid on September 09, 2012, 10:41:59 am
I went and checked out the website on Gokhale Cheri and there is going to be a free seminar coming up in our city soon - we plan on taking it. There are no practitioners of Neurocranial Restructuring however in our area. Did you have scoliosis Cheri? We've found that chiro and a lot of the things that work wonderfully with other kinds of mis-alignments and blockages haven't worked for Brian's scoliosis. It seems to be a different kind of animal.

Thanks for posting about those therapies. We'll try to post about our experience with the Gokhale after the course.

As far as neurocranial restructuring and alignments go, I found that I no longer had to be careful when I moved or exercised, to avoid pulling a muscle.  I just don't pull muscles anymore.  Before I did NCR, I had to be very careful how I moved, especially right after waking up.  I have heard of cases of scoliosis improving.

If you want to do it on the cheap, you can just get a blood-pressure bulb and some finger cots and do it on him at home.  I did about 300 treatments on myself in about 4 months, and had excellent results.

I would do Gokhale work first, really get his posture as good as it can be, and then do the NCR afterwards. Otherwise, bad postural habits could cause his bones to slip back into misalignment.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: PaleoPhil on September 10, 2012, 12:14:57 am
I found a scoliosis forum http://www.scoliosis.org/forum (http://www.scoliosis.org/forum) in which various nonsurgical treatments are discussed, including some mentioned in this thread. I found a few reports of success in achieving mild straightening of curvatures in young girls, but overall the patient reports re: nonsurgical treatments were not that encouraging.

I did find some interesting info re: minerals and scoliosis while quickly checking for any research I haven't seen before:

Changes of selenium, copper, and zinc content in hair and serum of patients with idiopathic scoliosis.
J Orthop Res. 2008 Sep;26(9):1279-82.
Dastych M, Cienciala J, Krbec M.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18404661 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18404661)
High zinc and copper and low selenium were associated with scoliosis. Some animal studies have found both high zinc or selenium and low zinc or selenium to be associated with scoliosis. So maybe it's the balance of zinc, copper, selenium and other nutrients, rather than simple deficiency in one, that's a factor.

Idiopathic Scoliosis Nutritional Deficiencies
Dr. Stitzel
http://www.squidoo.com/scoliosis-nutrition (http://www.squidoo.com/scoliosis-nutrition)
"What researchers are finding is that the ratio of different minerals is more important than just a single mineral being high or low in the body. With larger more progressive scoliosis patients the ratio between copper and selenium was significantly different than control groups. This ratio was off by such a large degree because of both the elevated levels of copper and the deceased levels of selenium occurring at once. Selenium was found to be interlinked to a chemical known as osteopontin found in high levels with patients diagnosed with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis."

Scoliosis Affects the Entire Body
http://www.prcstudiocity.com/scoliosis.html (http://www.prcstudiocity.com/scoliosis.html)
"Nutritional Support: Some scoliosis patients are found to have specific patterns of nutritional and hormonal imbalances. These include depressed levels of essential trace minerals selenium, zinc, and iron as well as absorption problems. When a nutritional imbalance is suspected, the appropriate referral to a nutritionist is made."

Top 5 Signs of Selenium Deficiency
http://www.newsmax.com/FastFeatures/signs-of-selenium-deficiency/2011/02/22/id/387013 (http://www.newsmax.com/FastFeatures/signs-of-selenium-deficiency/2011/02/22/id/387013)

And this is something I had found years ago:

Scoliosis: Exercise, Diet & Yoga Alternative Treatments
By Sandy Simmons
http://www.ctds.info/spinecurve.html (http://www.ctds.info/spinecurve.html)
"Scoliosis has been induced in a variety of animals through the creation of nutritional deficits and imbalances.  Not surprisingly, many of the nutritional imbalances linked to scoliosis in animals such as deficits of manganese, vitamin B6, and copper have all also been implicated as factors in osteoporosis in humans.  As noted above, research shows there are strong links between scoliosis and osteoporosis."

Because excessive selenium and copper have also been associated with scoliosis and other problems, I would caution people to be careful about trying copper and selenium supplements, particularly mega-dosing, and particularly if there aren't other symptoms of deficiency. I would think that getting one's nutrients as much as possible from foods would help avoid creating worse imbalances. Optimally, one would also get one's nutrient levels tested (http://chriskresser.com/selenium-the-missing-link-for-treating-hypothyroidism#comment-13410 (http://chriskresser.com/selenium-the-missing-link-for-treating-hypothyroidism#comment-13410)), though I have read that many nutrient tests tend to be considered unreliable, poorly understood, or excessively expensive.

FWIW, over the years I tried various forms of chiropractic (and I think other methods were mixed in by at least one chiropractor), yoga, exercises, massage, acupressure, improved posture practices, Gokhale, Egoscue and probably other things I've forgotten, but the only thing I've noticed any long-lasting improvement from so far is dietary change, though evolutionarily-informed Gokhale-type practices like minimizing Western-style chair sitting and doing more squatting and standing instead do help improve my short-term comfort. The improvements from dietary change were apparent mild straightening of curvature with 1/2" increased height, gradually improving flexibility in formerly tight muscles, better balance, and less back pain after stressors like long car rides.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: Dorothy on September 10, 2012, 04:01:44 am
Thanks for posting your experiences Phil and for those most interesting thoughts on the nutritional/mineral aspects of the problem.

When spending time reading blogs and on forums Brian determined for himself that it was only physical repositioning therapies and yoga postures specifically designed for a particular curve that had much of any effect on adult scoliosis. However, the other therapies could be used as adjuncts perhaps adding to the success.

That's why we are going to focus on adapting Brian's yoga practice to help with his scoliosis and hopeful learn some more useful stretches for his particular scoliosis if we can with the Schroth method - from which we have read some successful case histories with advanced adult patients. The massage work, chiropractic, Gokhale and some other things we are trying that I'm not ready to get into here - will all be considered adjuncts that could be helpful, but that we would not rely upon on their own.

For Zinc and Selenium I've been making pumpkin seed and brasil nut butters for Brian for awhile. I call pumpkin seeds "Zinc" or "Prostate" seeds and I call Brasil nuts "Selenium nuts". The pumpkin seed butter seems to reduce how many times Brian has to get up in the night to pee (determined by what happens when we run out ;) )  Btw, plain seeds don't work. I have to soak, dehydrate and grind them into butters for Brian to be able to digest/absorb them properly.

But how does one get copper???
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: Dorothy on September 10, 2012, 07:15:11 am
Yoga positions you should not do if you have scoliosis:

http://www.schrothmethod.com/about/yoga-for-scoliosis-menu (http://www.schrothmethod.com/about/yoga-for-scoliosis-menu)
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: PaleoPhil on September 10, 2012, 08:26:56 am
Nuts and seeds contain copper, so if anything, based on his nut butter consumption, Brian is probably more likely to be deficient on the zinc side of the zinc/copper ratio. Zinc is rich in red meats and shellfish. There's a relatively inexpensive "zinc tally" test to check zinc levels. I get zinc supplements that contain some copper, so that I don't deplete my copper levels too much by taking zinc, though I don't take zinc every day anymore anyway.

Yoga positions you should not do if you have scoliosis:

http://www.schrothmethod.com/about/yoga-for-scoliosis-menu (http://www.schrothmethod.com/about/yoga-for-scoliosis-menu)
Yeah, I found that page thanks to your mention of the Shroth method. It matches what my father warned me about years ago. Schroth-type techniques combined with Gokhale and similar natural posture recommendations does seem like the most promising approach for me to do at home without a lot of expensive equipment, though the folks at the forum didn't seem impressed by Schroth. It looks rather similar to the yoga postures and other things I am already doing. It's interesting that they arrived at the same conclusions about the unhealthy yoga postures that my father and I did independently of them.

One thing to consider about nut butters is that they tend to be highly concentrated sources of omega 6 fatty acids that are sensitive to oxidation and mineral-depleting phytic acid (http://chriskresser.com/another-reason-you-shouldnt-go-nuts-on-nuts (http://chriskresser.com/another-reason-you-shouldnt-go-nuts-on-nuts)). So soaking is probably wise, to reduce levels of phytate and other lectins, and if he can only digest butter forms, maybe trying to eat only rather fresh nut butter and in limited quantities and/or with foods rich in minerals and omega-3 acids to try to stay balanced. According to one study it only takes a couple of brazil nuts per day to improve selenium status (http://www.ajcn.org/content/87/2/379.short, (http://www.ajcn.org/content/87/2/379.short,) http://chriskresser.com/selenium-the-missing-link-for-treating-hypothyroidism (http://chriskresser.com/selenium-the-missing-link-for-treating-hypothyroidism)). On the other hand, some African bushmen reportedly eat a lot of omega-6-rich mongongo nuts without noticeable ill effects, so maybe the risks are overblown?
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: Dorothy on September 10, 2012, 08:49:57 am

Quote
Zinc is rich in red meats and shellfish. There's a relatively inexpensive "zinc tally" test to check zinc levels.

Brian loves shrimp and has been eating more meat since going more paleo - so hard to imagine a deficiency then - but if it's an absorption matter then that's different. But we'll get that zinc tally test done. Thanks for the heads up on that.

Quote
Yeah, I found that page thanks to your mention of the Shroth method. It matches what my father warned me about years ago. Schroth-type techniques combined with Gokhale and similar natural posture recommendations does seem like the most promising approach for me to do at home without a lot of expensive equipment, though the folks at the forum didn't seem impressed by Schroth. It looks rather similar to the yoga postures and other things I am already doing. It's interesting that they arrived at the same conclusions about the unhealthy yoga postures that my father and I did independently of them.

Did your father base his opinions on training or something in particular or was he just observant/intuitive? We've read lots of people that had success with Schroth. A bunch of people weren't impressed with anything at all of course. ;) We just tried to concentrate on what the most people said they had some success with. If people don't have success with anything that's not very useful information I'm afraid - at least if you want to stay hopeful. :D

Quote
One thing to consider about nut butters is that they tend to be highly concentrated sources of omega 6 fatty acids that are sensitive to oxidation and mineral-depleting phytic acid (http://chriskresser.com/another-reason-you-shouldnt-go-nuts-on-nuts (http://chriskresser.com/another-reason-you-shouldnt-go-nuts-on-nuts)). So soaking is probably wise, to reduce levels of phytate and other lectins, and if he can only digest butter forms, maybe trying to eat only rather fresh nut butter and in limited quantities and/or with foods rich in minerals and omega-3 acids to try to stay balanced.


I always soak nuts first and then dry them before making them into butters. I also always add sunflower seeds and walnuts - they seem to be pretty good for balancing the butter it feels like. He eats the nutbutters usually with fruit. I make it myself so the butters are never old like you buy in jars and I always taste the nuts first and I am really good at detecting spoilage/rancidity and mold - I can smell if they are really fresh. I've had to search far and wide for decent nuts and then I usually reject half of them. I'm not sure he knows how spoiled he is. ;)
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: cherimoya_kid on September 10, 2012, 11:34:40 am
I found a scoliosis forum http://www.scoliosis.org/forum (http://www.scoliosis.org/forum) in which various nonsurgical treatments are discussed, including some mentioned in this thread. I found a few reports of success in achieving mild straightening of curvatures in young girls, but overall the patient reports re: nonsurgical treatments were not that encouraging.

I did find some interesting info re: minerals and scoliosis while quickly checking for any research I haven't seen before:

Changes of selenium, copper, and zinc content in hair and serum of patients with idiopathic scoliosis.
J Orthop Res. 2008 Sep;26(9):1279-82.
Dastych M, Cienciala J, Krbec M.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18404661 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18404661)
High zinc and copper and low selenium were associated with scoliosis. Some animal studies have found both high zinc or selenium and low zinc or selenium to be associated with scoliosis. So maybe it's the balance of zinc, copper, selenium and other nutrients, rather than simple deficiency in one, that's a factor.

Idiopathic Scoliosis Nutritional Deficiencies
Dr. Stitzel
http://www.squidoo.com/scoliosis-nutrition (http://www.squidoo.com/scoliosis-nutrition)
"What researchers are finding is that the ratio of different minerals is more important than just a single mineral being high or low in the body. With larger more progressive scoliosis patients the ratio between copper and selenium was significantly different than control groups. This ratio was off by such a large degree because of both the elevated levels of copper and the deceased levels of selenium occurring at once. Selenium was found to be interlinked to a chemical known as osteopontin found in high levels with patients diagnosed with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis."

Scoliosis Affects the Entire Body
http://www.prcstudiocity.com/scoliosis.html (http://www.prcstudiocity.com/scoliosis.html)
"Nutritional Support: Some scoliosis patients are found to have specific patterns of nutritional and hormonal imbalances. These include depressed levels of essential trace minerals selenium, zinc, and iron as well as absorption problems. When a nutritional imbalance is suspected, the appropriate referral to a nutritionist is made."

Top 5 Signs of Selenium Deficiency
http://www.newsmax.com/FastFeatures/signs-of-selenium-deficiency/2011/02/22/id/387013 (http://www.newsmax.com/FastFeatures/signs-of-selenium-deficiency/2011/02/22/id/387013)

And this is something I had found years ago:

Scoliosis: Exercise, Diet & Yoga Alternative Treatments
By Sandy Simmons
http://www.ctds.info/spinecurve.html (http://www.ctds.info/spinecurve.html)
"Scoliosis has been induced in a variety of animals through the creation of nutritional deficits and imbalances.  Not surprisingly, many of the nutritional imbalances linked to scoliosis in animals such as deficits of manganese, vitamin B6, and copper have all also been implicated as factors in osteoporosis in humans.  As noted above, research shows there are strong links between scoliosis and osteoporosis."

Because excessive selenium and copper have also been associated with scoliosis and other problems, I would caution people to be careful about trying copper and selenium supplements, particularly mega-dosing, and particularly if there aren't other symptoms of deficiency. I would think that getting one's nutrients as much as possible from foods would help avoid creating worse imbalances. Optimally, one would also get one's nutrient levels tested (http://chriskresser.com/selenium-the-missing-link-for-treating-hypothyroidism#comment-13410 (http://chriskresser.com/selenium-the-missing-link-for-treating-hypothyroidism#comment-13410)), though I have read that many nutrient tests tend to be considered unreliable, poorly understood, or excessively expensive.

FWIW, over the years I tried various forms of chiropractic (and I think other methods were mixed in by at least one chiropractor), yoga, exercises, massage, acupressure, improved posture practices, Gokhale, Egoscue and probably other things I've forgotten, but the only thing I've noticed any long-lasting improvement from so far is dietary change, though evolutionarily-informed Gokhale-type practices like minimizing Western-style chair sitting and doing more squatting and standing instead do help improve my short-term comfort. The improvements from dietary change were apparent mild straightening of curvature with 1/2" increased height, gradually improving flexibility in formerly tight muscles, better balance, and less back pain after stressors like long car rides.

That's interesting.  I once read a chiropractor's webpage where he talked about different mineral deficiencies being associated with different vertebra being out of alignment.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: Dorothy on September 10, 2012, 11:49:10 am
That's interesting.  I once read a chiropractor's webpage where he talked about different mineral deficiencies being associated with different vertebra being out of alignment.

Are you saying here that each vertebra being out of alignment would correlate to a different mineral deficiency? Like if c6 was out of alignment that would mean a particular mineral(s) would be deficient?  You wouldn't remember the name of the chiropractor would you?
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: PaleoPhil on September 11, 2012, 06:12:02 am
The connection between mineral deficiencies and scoliosis has been known since at least 1984, but there's not enough profit in it and still way too much resistance against healthy eating in society for it to result in anything other than a handful of alternative practitioners using the knowledge, unfortunately.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: cherimoya_kid on September 11, 2012, 10:16:49 am
Are you saying here that each vertebra being out of alignment would correlate to a different mineral deficiency? Like if c6 was out of alignment that would mean a particular mineral(s) would be deficient?  You wouldn't remember the name of the chiropractor would you?

No, and I feel bad about it.  I'll Google it for you, but I imagine your industrious self can probably get what you need through Googling as well.

If you can't, I would suggest emailing professors at chiropractic schools.  Some of them would definitely know.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: cherimoya_kid on September 11, 2012, 10:19:21 am
The connection between mineral deficiencies and scoliosis has been known since at least 1984, but there's not enough profit in it and still way too much resistance against healthy eating in society for it to result in anything other than a handful of alternative practitioners using the knowledge, unfortunately.

At least WE are aware, or getting there, anyway.

IMHO, the human race deserves the bad health it gets, if it's going to put the profit motive ahead of health.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: Dorothy on September 11, 2012, 11:25:13 am
IMHO, the human race deserves the bad health it gets, if it's going to put the profit motive ahead of health.

The problem Cheri is that it's just a few of the multitude that keep the rest in the dark on purpose out of greed. I spend so much time researching and trying to find things out and still am in the dark about so much because of the AMA and the pharmaceutical cartels. I didn't know that scoliosis was linked to mineral deficiency. That should have been told to Brian in 1984!

I feel sometimes like I spend my life trying to unravel the lies and suppression.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: Dorothy on September 11, 2012, 11:28:08 am
No, and I feel bad about it.  I'll Google it for you, but I imagine your industrious self can probably get what you need through Googling as well.

If you can't, I would suggest emailing professors at chiropractic schools.  Some of them would definitely know.

Are you saying that it's true that each vertebra correlates to a specific mineral and your no is to remember the chiro?

I will most definitely do my best to find that information! That could be highly useful.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: cherimoya_kid on September 12, 2012, 10:16:53 am
Are you saying that it's true that each vertebra correlates to a specific mineral and your no is to remember the chiro?

I will most definitely do my best to find that information! That could be highly useful.

Yes, each vertebra matched to a specific mineral.

I thought it was too good to be true, but, ever since I've seen my own alignments shift depending on what I eat, I no longer consider to to be so.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: Dorothy on September 12, 2012, 11:59:40 am
Yes, each vertebra matched to a specific mineral.

I thought it was too good to be true, but, ever since I've seen my own alignments shift depending on what I eat, I no longer consider to to be so.

Oh boy! I'm hitting google. Wish me luck!
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: raw-al on September 30, 2012, 02:28:10 am
Let me know what you find out re: the nutrients for each disc.

I have a tendency to lean forward which I have found improvements from a variety of sources. I love the spinal twist from Yoga.

I spoke with a guy recently who is into a wide variety of health related devices and ideas and he told me about a version of the Bob Beck device that blasts out a big magnetic pulse. He uses it for pain management, but he told me that he has used it for persons who had frozen, and misaligned joints as well as a number of ailments.

He is an electronics expert so he took Bob's design and improved it so it is considerably more powerful. He has a website also which I have at home.

He is going to send me plans for making one although the Bob Beck plans (pulser I believe) are on the net. I am travelling now so I have no access to my usual info.

I cannot say it would be useful to you, but thought it might be useful to inject in the conversation
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: raw-al on October 01, 2012, 10:54:20 am
I asked about this in another group and got this reply;

"A 67 year old friend of mine had mild scoliosis of the spine since
childhood. She went monthly to a chiropractor for adjustment. For a whole
separate reason she started doing the stretches (for a wrist problem) in the
book Pain Free by Pete Egoscue. Once she was out of pain from the wrist she
switched over to full body maintenance routine there.

The following month she was due for her adjustment. Her back did not hurt
at all but she decided to go anyway. When she sat down for her regular exam
her chiro exclaimed "what on earth have you been doing?" She asked him what
he meant and he told her that her spine was totally straight! He said he'd
never seen such a straight spine on anyone her age before. He told her she
did not need an adjustment at all. The only thing she had done differently
was the Egoscue stretches."
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: Dorothy on October 01, 2012, 11:10:29 am
I'm sorry to say that Brian did the exercises from Egoscue for awhile with no benefit. He said that they were also exceedingly boring. It seemed so promising too... like so many other things. :( Thanks for the good thought though Al! I read what you wrote to Brian and maybe he'll try it again - trying the full body maintenance routine this time.

Right now he is reading Back Care Basics by Mary Pullig Schatz MD that was recommended to learn yoga postures for scoliosis from. She is Iyengar based. Iyengar himself taught her how to modify yoga postures for times of acute back distress. It has a section on scoliosis. I'll let y'all know how it goes.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: Dorothy on October 01, 2012, 11:32:00 am
This is the only link I found regarding particular vertebra's associations with organs and mineral deficiencies:

http://www.curezone.org/forums/am.asp?i=1167669 (http://www.curezone.org/forums/am.asp?i=1167669)


but along the way I found this which is an interesting list of what certain trace minerals can help with in case anyone is interested:
http://curezone.com/forums/am.asp?i=1479273 (http://curezone.com/forums/am.asp?i=1479273)

Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: eveheart on October 01, 2012, 12:27:02 pm
I'm sorry to say that Brian did the exercises from Egoscue for awhile with no benefit. He said that they were also exceedingly boring.

I did Egoscue with a certified therapist for a short while. Boring, yes. Results, minimal. Massively expensive.

I switched over to yoga, specifically, Yin yoga, with great results.
Quote
http://www.yinyoga.com/ (http://www.yinyoga.com/)  "Yin Yoga works the deeper levels of the body/heart/mind: the connective tissues of the ligaments, fascia, joints and bones and the energetic channels of the meridians, nerves and blood system.

I am regaining range-of-motion in my shoulders, and limping has been corrected in my hip. I can do the postures because it goes slowly enough for me. Every posture can be modified for any type of physical limitation.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: cherimoya_kid on October 01, 2012, 10:06:42 pm
This is the only link I found regarding particular vertebra's associations with organs and mineral deficiencies:

http://www.curezone.org/forums/am.asp?i=1167669 (http://www.curezone.org/forums/am.asp?i=1167669)


but along the way I found this which is an interesting list of what certain trace minerals can help with in case anyone is interested:
http://curezone.com/forums/am.asp?i=1479273 (http://curezone.com/forums/am.asp?i=1479273)



Interesting.  Perhaps if you emailed some professors at chiropractic schools they might have some knowledge of it.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: raw-al on October 02, 2012, 01:28:01 am
Not all chiros are created the same. Some do the joint cracking and some do a manipulation which has a similar effect.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: Brad462 on October 02, 2012, 01:58:21 am
If you're going to take trace minerals I recommend trying a supplement called Cell Food.  It is amazing and I am not a fan of supplements.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: Dorothy on October 02, 2012, 03:23:57 am
If you're going to take trace minerals I recommend trying a supplement called Cell Food.  It is amazing and I am not a fan of supplements.

Brad - I heard of something called cell food decades ago - is it the same thing or is it a new product? Would you please tell me more about it and why you like it?
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: Dorothy on October 02, 2012, 03:33:42 am
I did Egoscue with a certified therapist for a short while. Boring, yes. Results, minimal. Massively expensive.

I switched over to yoga, specifically, Yin yoga, with great results.
I am regaining range-of-motion in my shoulders, and limping has been corrected in my hip. I can do the postures because it goes slowly enough for me. Every posture can be modified for any type of physical limitation.

Ah - so you too Eveheart did not get the results from Egoscue. I will tell Brian to use his effort and time elsewhere. Thank you for letting us know.

Yin yoga. I just took a seminar in it. Funny thing is that I "created" the same thing for myself out of the way yoga used to be taught many years ago. I call my yoga "napa yoga". I put myself into a posture and take a nap. :D  Yin yoga is still taught in a style that is too yang for me. For my yang exercises I prefer other things. My stretching and yoga need to be totally relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable - meditative - deep - blissful. That for me is where the gains come. Yoga is one of my great joys in life. Over the last couple of decades I have figured out some postures and tricks for fully relaxing into poses Eve. If I can ever be of assistance to you, please let me know.

Brian does not do my form of yoga. He goes to these athletic classes that I would hate. He forces himself into positions with an iron will. That's why I think the Iyengar yoga would be a good match for him. I studied Iyengar many years ago and it is the form of yoga which to me most works on consciously forcing your body into better alignment. 
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: Dorothy on October 02, 2012, 03:35:17 am
Interesting.  Perhaps if you emailed some professors at chiropractic schools they might have some knowledge of it.

Maybe if what we are doing now doesn't not work taking that time and effort would make sense. We are trying some other therapies at the moment that I will report on if they are effective.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: Brad462 on October 02, 2012, 04:50:55 am
I don't think so, Dorothy.  I doubt it has been around that long.  You can find more info at: cellfood.com

I took the Essential Silica Formula and it has helped my colitis greatly, but it is a lifelong battle.  I have also noticed that my hair grows back really fast now, but I could not careless about that.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: Dorothy on October 02, 2012, 06:34:31 am
Thanks Brad. I passed the info onto Brian - but his doctor has just started him on a bunch of things that he will have to try out first to see if they make a difference. We'll keep it on the back burner. Good to have options.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: PaleoPhil on October 02, 2012, 06:43:33 am
If you're going to take trace minerals I recommend trying a supplement called Cell Food.  It is amazing and I am not a fan of supplements.
Hoo boy, this isn't going to win me friends, but this is one of my least favorite products. I used to sell it at a healthfood/supplement store, and it was one of the products I felt most guilty about selling. Not one single customer reported any significant benefits from it, but I couldn't bad mouth it if I didn't want to get fired (luckily, there weren't many interested in it anyway and no repeat buyers). Now's my chance to finally call this stuff the quackery that it is. Now savage me if you must. It's worth undergoing some criticism to speak out against it.

On the bright side, Cellfood shows the amazing power of the human brain/body to heal itself if it's convinced that something works. That's something to celebrate!
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: Dorothy on October 02, 2012, 06:47:19 am
I didn't get a chance to read up on it yet. The first thing that made me wonder though right away was first thing on the front page it said it had hundreds of nutrients. Those kinds of statements always make me take pause.

Glad you chimed in Phil. You just saved me some time.

That must have been frustrating working in a place where you couldn't tell people what you knew to be the truth.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: Dorothy on October 02, 2012, 06:47:55 am
Phil - are you familiar with Standard Process by any chance? Do you have an opinion?
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: PaleoPhil on October 02, 2012, 06:49:25 am
Glad you chimed in Phil. You just saved me some time.
Thanks Dorothy. My guilt for selling that stuff is somewhat assuaged now.

Quote
That must have been frustrating working in a place where you couldn't tell people what you knew to be the truth.
Yeah, it was rather eye-opening, as I didn't realize that 90+% of the healthfood/supplement products were crap until I worked at a place that sold them.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: PaleoPhil on October 02, 2012, 06:56:39 am
Phil - are you familiar with Standard Process by any chance? Do you have an opinion?
I'm not, sorry. The place I worked for didn't sell it.

I know they go overboard in their conventionalism and defense of corporate interests, and I never rely entirely on their viewpoint, but Quackwatch did post an article on it that I found: http://www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/lee.html (http://www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/lee.html)

One thing I learned from my healthfood/supplement store days was that the most ancient and boring products tended to be the ones that people reported benefits from (mainly intake of minerals and external use of flax seed oil, which any Amish physician could have told you about a century or more ago). On the bright side, a veteran co-worker told me that my customers were the only ones she had seen come back to the store and report actual benefits!
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: Dorothy on October 02, 2012, 07:13:53 am
Standard process is basically a way of getting people to get organs into them as far as I'm concerned - which is not a bad thing! Considering that we can't buy adrenal glands for instance it's good to know that there is some source out there of whole food organ supplements. I just would rather be able to get the organs ourselves directly.

As far as Quackwatch goes - they had to go pretty far back in time to find anything - which means to me it's probably a pretty good company. With sites like that you can judge how good things are just by how far they have to go in any direction to find something negative to say because if there is anything at all negative they will find it - so useful if you don't take it too seriously.

Weston A. Price folks are really into Standard Process supplements it seems.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: Brad462 on October 02, 2012, 07:39:47 am
Thanks Dorothy. My guilt for selling that stuff is somewhat assuaged now.


Don't you think you're being overly dramatic?  You talk like you were peddling drugs to kids.  At worst CellFood is a placebo.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: PaleoPhil on October 02, 2012, 07:53:57 am
OK, sounds like you know more about them than me, Dorothy.

Don't you think you're being overly dramatic?  You talk like you were peddling drugs to kids.  At worst CellFood is a placebo.
Actually, quack placebos (in other words, something that's no better than water), is what I was thinking of--the illicit drugs analogy didn't cross my mind. If you're comfortable with selling quack products to people that are misleadingly advertised as more than that, that's your choice. If you think I'm being dramatic, then you don't know me very well.
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: Brad462 on October 02, 2012, 08:01:33 am
Now hold on a minute!  I am not selling anything!!!
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: PaleoPhil on October 02, 2012, 08:03:40 am
Great, now you're talking my language!  :D
Title: Re: scoliosis (must present alternative to surgery)
Post by: Dorothy on October 02, 2012, 08:32:54 am
Brad - did you take the supplement while you also were changing your diet by any chance?
One of the things that makes it hard to determine if things are working or not and how is if you change more things than one at a time.
Also, just because it might not have worked for many others doesn't mean that it didn't work for you. The product DID have minerals in it. You might have been deficient in something and had that deficiency filled by the product. I'm not doubting that you had good effects when you said you did. I just like hearing what Phil says because he had a broader experience with a larger population and I've known him a long time and he has a really great track record with me..... he got me HERE! ;)