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Sit-Ups & Scoliosis (6 Answers You Should Know)

Scoliosis is a condition that causes a curve or a bend in the spine.

While, in some cases, treatment isn’t required, it can be a much more serious condition with surgery being a potential option for some people.

Trying to manage scoliosis to prevent any further complications, discomfort, pain, or other injuries can involve staying active and exercising.

However, knowing which exercises to do to help your scoliosis instead of making things worse is an important thing to consider.

So, in this article, we discuss the relationship between sit-ups and scoliosis.

In it, we talk about whether sit-ups are good or bad for scoliosis, as well as other questions commonly asked about sit-ups and scoliosis.

Person with scoliosis

Can You Do Sit-Ups With Scoliosis?

Improving your core strength and posture can help you manage your scoliosis.

However, not all core strengthening exercises will actually benefit the condition, so you need to be careful about which ones you choose to add to your exercise program.

Some core exercises (like sit-ups) can cause an unnatural bend or arching of your back and spine. This is something that needs to be avoided when trying to manage scoliosis.

It’s for this reason that sit-ups aren’t usually a good idea with scoliosis.

Unless your doctor or medical team tells you otherwise, it’s probably best to avoid sit-ups if you have scoliosis.

Are Sit-Ups Good or Bad For Scoliosis?

It’s commonly accepted that sit-ups are more likely to be bad for scoliosis than good.

That’s not to say that this is always the case, but, as a general rule, there will be much more beneficial exercises out there to choose from than sit-ups if you have scoliosis.

It makes sense why some people think that sit-ups are good for scoliosis as the condition tends to be better managed if you have a stronger core and better posture.

As sit-ups can help strengthen your core, and therefore improve your posture, you might think that they are good for scoliosis.

The issue comes from the pressure that the exercise puts on your back and spine.

As they can cause your spine to unnaturally arch or bend, sit-ups are normally best avoided if you have scoliosis.

Can Sit-Ups Make Scoliosis Worse?

Sit-ups on their own won’t necessarily make your scoliosis worse, but they’re unlikely to help improve your condition.

Scoliosis is a medical condition that isn’t caused by external factors such as injury, etc. This means that doing a physical movement is unlikely to make things too much worse.

However, there are certain exercises that can help keep you comfortable with scoliosis and also to help keep minimize the impact it has on your life.

Unfortunately, sit-ups aren’t one of these exercises and are best avoided if you have scoliosis.

How To Do Sit-Ups With Scoliosis

As a general rule, you probably shouldn’t be doing sit-ups if you have scoliosis.

However, your doctor or medical team may recommend other core exercises that may be similar to sit-ups that can help keep your core as strong as possible.

Any exercise you do with scoliosis, whether it be a sit-up, a sit-up variation, or any other exercise, will need to be done extremely carefully.

You should start off by doing a small number of repetitions before gradually building up the rep and set numbers as your core muscles get stronger and more developed.

If you try to do too much too fast, you could make your scoliosis worse and you could increase the number of symptoms you experience.

If you do sit-ups with scoliosis, do them very carefully and under the advice and guidance of a medical professional.

Can You Do Sit-Ups After Scoliosis Surgery?

Normally, after scoliosis surgery, you will find sit-ups (and other similar exercises) quite uncomfortable and difficult to do.

Low-impact and low-intensity exercises such as walking, swimming, and yoga tend to be better suited to you if you’ve had scoliosis surgery.

As always though, you should follow the advice and guidance of your doctor before doing any kind of exercise after scoliosis surgery.

How Long After Scoliosis Surgery Can You Do Sit-Ups?

This will ultimately depend on the severity of the surgery, how the surgery went, and how well your body recovers from it.

You can probably expect to be out of the gym somewhere between 3 and 9 months after scoliosis surgery.

This will give your body time to heal and for you to begin going through the physical therapy process.

You may not be able to do sit-ups at all after scoliosis surgery, but, if your doctor says you can, it will likely be close to a year after the surgery before they’re advised.

That’s all for this article, but what’s the average sit-ups for a 15 year old? Or can you get a hernia from sit-ups?

Hope this helped!

Sources

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/scoliosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20350716