“You Changed My Daughter’s Life!”
“Thank you, you have changed our daughter’s life!” exclaimed Mary, the mother of our 15-year old patient Sonia. “After speaking with the surgeon we decided to put off the surgery,” continued Mary as she hugged her daughter.
Later that visit, while Sonia was doing her posture rehabilitation exercises, Mary told me, “I would have had to get a second job to pay for that surgery.” A mother will do anything for the health of their child, including getting a second job to pay for their medical bills. When solutions arise that don’t create a hardship to the family, but provide life-changing results, let’s just say it’s a Win-Win!
Were the results with Sonia unexpected, or a miracle? No, they were an expected clinical outcome from a clinically precise scoliosis treatment plan. The results weren’t immediate, but after 12 weeks of committed care, Sonia was on a new path to better health and more confidence. What could be more valuable for a teenage girl?
Sonia presented with idiopathic scoliosis that became apparent at age 12. She presented for her first visit at the American Posture Institute 3 years later as her last resort before having surgery. Scoliosis cases are complex and should be treated as such. For Sonia’s treatment plan we focused on global correction of postural distortion patterns including the musculoskeletal system, neurology controlling posture, and re-training her respiratory patterns.
She had an all encompassing treatment plan focused on spinal alignment treatments, posture rehabilitation strategies to strengthen weak musculature, and posture habit re-education to improve her postural habits during her daily activities. Of her postural rehabilitation plan, Sonia was most excited about Vibration Therapy.
Vibration Therapy is a protocol of scoliosis-specific exercises performed on a whole body vibration platform. For scoliosis patients it is recommended to perform Vibration Therapy for 10 minutes at a frequency of about 25 Hz on vertical tri-planar vibration at least three times per week.
Why is whole body vibration so effective for postural correction and the reduction of abnormal lateral curves characteristic of scoliosis? Researchers claim that patients can expect to get results 4 x faster with Vibration Therapy! When the patient is utilizing whole body vibration they are able to achieve 100% muscle contraction, whereas typical training protocols only activate between 40-60% of the muscle fibers.
By activating Type 1 and Type 2 muscle fibers simultaneously, patients are gaining strength in large muscle groups while activating their postural muscles to hold themselves upright against gravity in the most efficient manner possible. Plus, the vibratory stimulus causes the muscles to contract and relax so quickly that just 10 minutes of vibration has as many benefits of 30 minutes of traditional training.
The implementation of Vibration Therapy in your posture correction clinic can benefit many patients including patients who present with scoliosis. Vibration Therapy is an effective form of postural rehabilitation that is highly recommended by the American Posture Institute.
