Pediatric Ball Exercises for Scoliosis

Scoliosis is an abnormal lateral, typically S-shaped curve of the spine, and it is often detected during adolescence or childhood, when bones are still forming and growing. Scoliosis occurs in approximately 2 percent of the population, and the cause usually isn't known. Although true treatment of scoliosis requires back bracing or surgery to prevent curve progression, the majority of people with scoliosis have curves that are not severe enough to justify either treatment. But exercises to strengthen surrounding tissue and muscle have been recommended to maintain fitness and improve the quality of life.

Types of Ball Exercises

• Physical therapists and other health professionals use therapy ball exercises to repair or strengthen muscles and tissues after injury or surgery or because of chronic conditions like scoliosis or arthritis. Some of these exercises can be completed at home after sufficient training with a physical therapist.

  Exercise ball routines specific to back muscles around the spine often begin with leg, arm and back extensions. By balancing with the stomach on the ball, a person can stretch the limbs or roll the body across the ball to lengthen muscles, typically in three to five sets of 10 repetitions.

  In addition to extension exercises, routines that target the triceps, neck and back are performed while the person sits and balances on a therapy ball. Some examples of this light, weight-resistance training are backward arm curls and one-armed rowing motions, which both tone the triceps so that strain is taken off of the back muscles when lifting or using arm muscles, and sitting parallel bends. Parallel bends begin with a person sitting on an exercise ball and bending at the waist to wrap arms around the thighs and reach for floor weights; this movement stretches the back and allows the person to tone back and arm muscles together. Using an exercise ball for balance in these two primary ways offers resistance and muscle strengthening that can reduce pain associated with progressively curving spinal bones in young adults with scoliosis.