It is important in the treatment that those affected can exercise regularly and can perform these exercises independently. Only then can Schroth’s treatment be successful. It should be understood what deformation of the spinal column is present (convex or concave scoliosis in the lumbar spine or BWS).
Physiotherapy is used to treat this pathological direction (scoliosis). Especially at the beginning, perform the exercise in front of a mirror. In this way you can recognize and better correct incorrect postures. Especially in the beginning, the body awareness should be trained.
Exercises according to Schroth
- Exercises against scoliosis in the lumbar spine You stand on both of your knees and place a cushion under your left knee. You put both hands on your hips and your arms are bent about 90 degrees. Return to your correction posture and make the neck long.
The pubic bone is pulled towards the navel and the pelvis is tilted forward. Now extend the right leg to the side. Now stand on the left knee, which is underneath, and on the right heel.
The arms are tensed outwards, isometrically. It is important that the upper body and the stretched leg form a straight line and that the upper body does not collapse to the left side. Otherwise the right lumbar spine muscles will not be strengthened.
- What is being corrected?
Also in this exercise we have the same effect as in the first one. The left lumbar bulge is corrected by strengthening the right lumbar spine muscles and thus pulling the vertebral bodies to the right side. This also leads to a stretching of the entire spine and an erection in the sagittal plane.
By tensing both arms, both sides of the shoulder blade can be strengthened in addition.
- Duration: As beginner (4×5) and as advanced (5×10). Take about 60 seconds break in between.
- Exercise against scoliosis in the BWS This exercise is called the caterpillar and is performed on a mat in a supine position. You assume the correct posture of the spine.
Make the neck long and pull the pubic bone towards the navel. Tilt the pelvis forward. Both legs are angled and hip-wide apart.
The arms are laid at about 45 degrees from the body and stretched out. The palms of your hands are facing the ceiling. You now let your shoulders circle towards the floor and do not take a break.
Rotating movements are also made with the arms. The rotation of the shoulders towards the floor and towards the feet is especially emphasized.
- What is being corrected? This exercise against scoliosis in BWS focuses on the shoulder area.
You mobilize this area and strengthen the muscles of the shoulder girdle. This is particularly important if you have increased kyphosis in the thoracic spine. This is the deformation of the thoracic vertebrae in the sagittal plane.
By strengthening the musculature, you pull the vertebrae forward again. In addition, they strengthen the area of the cervical spine and can thus treat pronounced lordosis in this region. The correction posture lengthens the spine and brings it into an upright position.
- Duration: For beginners (3×10) and for advanced students (3×20) The breaks in between are about 30 seconds.
- Stretching exercise against scoliosis To relieve pain, stretching always helps to bring the muscle out of its increased tone.
The first exercise takes place partly hanging. Look for something to hold on to before you start (a wall bar is ideal). Stretch out your arms upwards and hold on to them with both.
You stretch your bottom backwards and your legs are hip-wide apart and slightly bent. Both heels are on the ground. Now tilt the pelvis forward again and again.
To do this, bring your stomach and thighs under tension and make the neck long. Look across the floor.
- Duration: For beginners (5×3) and for advanced students (5×5) Take a break for about 60 seconds in between.
What is being corrected? In this exercise against scoliosis in the lumbar spine, you mainly correct the frontal displacement of the lumbar vertebrae.
This is done by lifting the leg. In any case, the pelvis is corrected in the frontal plane when it has tilted to the side due to the scoliosis. The patient is also positioned against a lumbar bulge on the left side, since the rolled up towel will push the deformation away.But also a deformation of the thoracic spine can be treated with this exercise.
Furthermore, the upper (right) arm strengthens this region by tensing the muscles at the shoulder blade. The protruding shoulder blade can thus be pulled forward, upwards and in the direction of the spine. In this way, a protruding shoulder blade is fixed to the spinal column through active strengthening.
This has an effect in all three planes. The correction posture actively lengthens the spine and corrects it in the sagittal plane. If you have a lumbar bulge on the right side, perform the exercise on the right side and support the right lumbar region with a rolled up towel.
Duration: As beginner (4 x 6) and as advanced (5 x 10). Take a break of about 60 – 90 seconds. You can find more exercises in the articles Physiotherapy for Scoliosis and Physiotherapy according to Schroth
- You lie on the left side.
Place a rolled up towel under the lumbar bulge to prevent deformation. The underlying (left) leg lies against the body in about 90 degrees of flexion and the upper (right) leg lies with its foot on a small stool. The underlying (left) arm is stretched upwards and the upper (right) arm is first turned outwards and then lifted into the hip.
This is angled approximately up to 90 degrees. Take the correction posture of the spine and make the neck long. Pull your pubic bone towards the spine and tilt the pelvis forward.
Tense your right arm against the ceiling. Now go with the exhalation and lift the upper (right) leg a little from the stool and keep it up. Continue to breathe in and out and keep the leg up.
Duration: As beginner (4×6) and as advanced (5×10).
Take a 60 second break in between. You can find more exercises in the articles Physiotherapy for Scoliosis and Physiotherapy according to Schroth.
- For this exercise you need two chairs that are stable and do not slip away.
They should also not have armrests. You place the chairs facing each other and keep them at a distance. This is approximately the width of your face.
Get down on your knees and put your bent arms on the seats. Your face faces the floor and lies free. The fingers are folded under the forehead.
Both hands support the head with the back of your hand. Make your neck long again and tilt the pelvis forward. Pull the pubic bone towards your navel.
While exhaling, make small rocking movements with your sternum towards the floor and the ceiling.
Duration: For beginners (5×3) and for advanced students (5×5) Take about 60 seconds break in between. The exercise can also be done very well in water. You can go into the swimming pool and do it in a pool.
Gravity is eliminated and there are no weights acting on the spine. Further exercises can be found in the articles Physiotherapy for scoliosis and Physiotherapy according to Schroth.
- This exercise mainly stretches the weak side.
Again, hold on to something that you can hold on to well (e.g. a wall bar). You should also be able to put your foot down on a raised surface. We assume that your weak side is the left side.
This is directed towards the wall. Extend your left arm upwards and hold on to the wall bars with it. The left foot is placed on a slightly higher support.
The right foot is on tiptoe and the right arm is stretched out sideways/upwards. They look forward again. In this way, the left side is stretched out, since it is strongly tense due to the scoliosis.
